The Second Uchiha
by McBurger
Summary: Instead of Sasuke being the "Last Uchiha", there are two of them. Introducing Seishi Uchiha, little brother to Shisui Uchiha. Spared of the massacre by the promise Itachi had made to Shisui. How will the world change with the addition of another Uchiha? Not a Self-insert/reanimated OC. Just another Uchiha reacting to the world around him as it unravels. No Deus Ex-Machina
1. Chapter 1- The Origin

The Village of Konoha, a peaceful site but on the mend. After a swift, yet vicious attack by the Kyuubi, or Nine-Tailed Fox, the village was hard at work on repairing the damage and mourning all who lost their lives in the attack, both Ninja and Civilian. Although, with every loss of life a new one is brought into this world, and this child was the second child of Kagami Uchiha and Mayume Uchiha. The two new parents sat together in the thankfully-untouched hospital. Having recently named the new addition to their family Seishi Uchiha. Standing next to the parents was their first-born, nine-year-old Shisui Uchiha. Shisui stared at his new brother in awe, as he reached his index finger out he giggled a little bit as the toddler gently gripped it and squealed happily.

"So this is my cute little brother huh?" Shisui said aloud, " I think we're going to get along great." He smiled gently as the newborn wouldn't let go of his finger.

"Indeed he is Shisui, and what joy he's brought us, even in this time of despair." The tired-mother Mayume stated. She beamed a bright smile at the baby who looked up at her when she started speaking. " He's beautiful."

"Well he came from you, so I didn't expect anything less" Kagami said, smiling at his wife. He leaned down and gave her a soft peck on the lips. Leaning back up, he looked to Shisui, "Come my son, let's go see if we can have your mother cleared so we can go home and get the new one settled in"

7 Years Later

"Shisuiiiiiiiii" A young Seishi called, " Can you teach me a cool jutsu?" He asked his older brother with a puppy-dog look.

"No I can't. Remember Mom and Dad said you can't learn any jutsu until you start practicing the Fireball jutsu. That's your rite of passage as a member of the Uchiha clan. Besides you just unlocked your chakra last week." Shisui said to his cute younger brother. He continued with a grin, " What makes you think you can perform the jutsu your amazing older brother can do?"

Seishi unrelenting in his attempts to persuade his brother grabbed his black shinobi pants and looked up at him through his shaggy raven-colored bangs. " Please, at least help me with the fireball jutsu. I can't even get my chakra to heat up, it just feels the same."

Shisui looked at him and grinned "Well, maybe. I have a pretty busy schedule you know. Can't be teaching some little brat." He laughed as Seishi looked betrayed at being called a brat. As he was about to retort, a gust of wind was heard and a flurry of leaves seen as a fifteen year-old Anbu Captain Itachi Uchiha flickered next to them. At the sight of Itachi, Seishi's eyes widened at another hopeful contender.

"Itachi-nii-san" Seishi exclaimed in glee. He immediately ran up to him, hugging him in the exact same spot he did Shisui moments ago, "Can you teach me how to do the fireball jutsu, or at least make that meany Shisui teach me? I can't learn any more cool moves until I get that one down. Please? You'd be my favorite if you did." He questioned thinking he now would get what he wanted.

"I'm sorry Seishi-kun, if Shisui-kun said no, he must have a good reason." Itachi said to the hyperactive child with the smallest of smiles.

"Awww." Seishi groaned, "You're both mean. I'm going inside." The little Uchiha stomped inside and closed the door.

Both Itachi and Shisui smiled as they watched the youngest sulk away, but Itachi soon broke the silence, "You've noticed it haven't you? The clans growing animosity and isolation?"

Shisui looked back to his long time friend and nodded solemnly, "Yes I have, but what can we do? How can we stop it?"

"I was hoping you would have a good answer." Itachi replied, " I will try and talk with my father, but he has given me a mission, and if I disobey it will look suspicious." Itachi informed Shisui who nodded in agreement.

"Maybe with the Hokage's permission I might attempt to use my Kotoamatsukami and hopefully persuade the clan to abort this path. It might lead to a coup, and that'll end in the destruction of the Uchiha clan, especially with us not fighting." Shisui said looking down, "Plus with father gone and mother sick, I don't want to put more fear into Seishi's life, and I know you want to protect Sasuke as well." Itachi only nodded in response, no words being needed for that. They both stood in silence for a few moments, formulating thoughts on how to accomplish their goals.

Itachi finally broke the silence "I must head out Shisui, Anbu duty calls, we shall continue this later." Shisui only looked Itachi's way and gave a small nod. With that recognition the Young Anbu Captain disappeared from view.

 _'I really hope this doesn't lead where we think it will.'_ Shisui thought while looking up at the beautiful blue sky. _' If it does, things could be disastrous. I'll just have to make sure it doesn't. No matter the cost.'_ Shisui thought with a firm resolution. With that he walked away, if he was going to be prepared for anything, he needed to be stronger.

"Come again?" Said an aged Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage and known as 'The Professor'. He sat at a table flanked by his two advisors Koharu and Homura, and further down the table was Danzo Shimura, before them was a kneeled Shisui Uchiha.

"I wish to use the power of my Mangekyo Sharingan to convince the clan to not follow through with the Coup. I will do what I can to avoid bloodshed on both sides and save lives, even if it makes me a criminal for the rest of my life" Shisui stated firmly to the village leaders in front of him.

"Are you sure you wish to take this responsibility?" The Hokage asked seriously, "This is a burden no man should bear, and yet you would take it willingly?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. If it means protecting my little brother and the village I adore so much." Shisui said to the elders

The Hokage and other elders looked on with sorrow and respect, Hiruzen then answered, "I will not stop you, and I regret this falls to you. Go swiftly and may the will of fire protect you in your endeavors." Shisui nodded and shunshined out of the room. The elders conversed among themselves for a short while afterwards, and soon Danzo excused himself from the room.

Shisui soon landed in a small training field on the side of Konoha close to the Uchiha grounds. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to do.

"Please forgive me Seishi. I hope you know I'm doing this for you, and hopefully I'll be able to come back and tell you." Shisui said with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and prepared to leap off towards his destiny when he heard the rustle of leaves and the unmistakable sound of shurikens flying through the air. Snapping his eyes open he turned around and blocked all of them with his tanto. Danzo appeared from the foliage with four ROOT members by his side.

"Shisui Uchiha" Danzo spoke. "You're plan is only temporary, the curse of the Uchiha runs deep, and no doubt they will attempt a coup again, and so to protect this village, I will take your eyes and move to Plan B. I will not let your ways doom this village, I am not Sarutobi, I will take action to ensure the survival of this village." Danzo then pointed his good arm forward, "Go" he commanded his ROOT ninja forward.

Shisui gritted his teeth and launched and prepared for the first of the ROOT members who came at him with a kunai in hand, slicing for his neck. Shisui blocked with his tanto and prepared to counterattack only to have to dodge when another ROOT ninja came at him with a kick to his back. Shisui shunshined away to a nearby tree, only to have kikaichu bugs race to his legs, forcing Shisui to shunshin away again, where the third ROOT ninja jumped in hoping to lock the Uchiha down. Shisui returned to the clearing before jumping into the air, and performing several hand seals

" **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu** " The Uchiha yelled before channeling a giant fireball at the two ROOT ninja he fought previously, the two ninja went through several hand seals of their own before they both shouted

" **Water Style: Water Encampment Wall"** The water wall rose up and protected the two shinobi from the superheated blast. As steam erupted Shisui smirked, having been handling the ROOT members rather easily, only for his eyes to widen at thought of a missing fourth who'd been there recently. Jumping from inside the ground came the fourth ROOT ninja aiming a Wakizashi at the surprised Uchiha. Shisui and the masked shinobi locked blades, when Shisui was about to overpower the ROOT Anbu, he instincts told him to turn around, as he turned his head, rushing to his face was the hand of one Danzo Shimura. Shisui's eyes widened in horror as Danzo's fingers reached for his right eye, only to rip it from its socket.

Shisui yelped in agony and jumped away, clutching at the now empty socket. Shisui looked up with a glare of hatred at the ROOT commander and his lackeys, who had gathered around Danzo.

"See this?" Danzo asked Shisui, while showing him his eye. "This just proves you are not strong enough. I will be having the other one now". The ROOT ninja the jumped at Shisui, only for a strong gust of wind to propel them backwards. Spiraling in Shisui's left eye was his Mangekyo Sharingan, and building around him was the infamous Susano'o. Danzo's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the coveted technique to form when only one eye was present. Shisui growled in anger, and from the chest of the Green Susanoo shot spectral shuriken at his enemies. Danzo and his lackeys jumped away from the spot the shuriken were aimed, and prepared a jutsu.

Shisui looked on in frustration ' _Damn, this isn't as strong as it should be. If I hadn't gotten overconfident. I'll just have to stall and hope someone realizes what's going on soon. Hell they should, my Susanoo is a beacon, but I can't keep this up much longer'._ Shisui looked on as the four shinobi he was facing all stood tall and performed hand seals, each ninja firing a different technique

 **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**

 **Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu**

 **Earth Style: Earth Spear**

 **Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet**

Shisui watched the four techniques coming at him, he braced himself for impact, due to the Susanoo he had limited mobility. The quad-element attack connected with a large bang, sending Shisui stumbling back, but the Susanoo held and prevented him from being harmed.

Shisui looked on and saw them preparing another attack, "I have to get out of here, no one seems to be coming" Shisui said to himself. The Susanoo crumbled away as Shisui stopped channeling the massive beast. Seeing this as their opportunity the four shinobi jumped at Shisui, who instantly shunshined away, following his tracks the ROOT operatives chased.

Three more shunshines and Shisui was out of breath. He rested on a tree trying to build up chakra for another jump. As he stood up, he heard the whistling of more shuriken through the trees, too tired to jump away, and with his depth perception being off after losing one eye, making the shuriken impossible to block, Shisui closed his eyes and braced for impact. Only for the pain to never come

Shisui slowly opened his eyes to see the back of the one person he wanted to see more than anything at that point,"Itachi", Shisui muttered softly.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I was supposed to be on a mission, but I got a bad feeling so I returned." Itachi told his best friend.

Shisui smiled "Well better late than never right?" Shisui laughed with his ever upbeat personality.

Seeing Itachi showed up gave the ROOT members pause, knowing fighting now would be futile, they fled. Itachi sheathed his sword, and turned to his comrade. Throwing an arm over his shoulder Itachi picked Shisui up and together they jumped away, traveling until they got near a cliff overlooking a river.

"Itachi, I'm sorry" Shisui said as soon as they separated.

"What for?" Itachi asked curiously.

"I wasn't strong enough." Shisui said solemnly, " Danzo took my right eye", noticing for the first time Itachi's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in anger. Before Itachi could speak Shisui continued, "I'm sorry, but I have to give this burden to you. Danzo will almost certainly come for my other eye, and we can't let him have it. So I'm going to give it to you, for safekeeping." Itachi's eyes widened again in shock, he watched as Shisui brought his hand to his left eye socket, and plucked out his eye. Not even a grunt in pain, only a smile as he looked at his best friend with closed eyelids over empty sockets.

"Don't let anything happen to these. Again, I'm sorry. I have placed something upon you that I wished to protect you from, so I beg you, don't let the Uchiha clan destroy Konoha. Don't let them destroy the brothers we hold dearly. Don't let this curse burn away the things we love. If I can trust anybody with this job, it'd be you Itachi." Shisui smiled, and the blood dripping from the wounds in his empty sockets dripped out of his eye sockets, similar to blood tears. Itachi however, was dripping real tears, knowing the one place this would go. Shisui unclasped his Tanto from his back and handed it to Itachi as well.

"Please give this to Seishi, and tell him not only I'm sorry, but that I love him as well." Itachi could only nod, unable to process where this was going. "Chin up Itachi, not all will be lost. I believe in you, you always were the number one Uchiha, huh? Especially with me gone soon." Shisui laughed trying to lighten the mood. Realizing it had failed, Shisui continued, "Itachi, listen to these words, words I have told you before. The true meaning of a shinobi is protecting peace from the shadows. Don't let the curse destroy you like it has much of our clan, you're better than that." Itachi still pouring tears nodded to his friend, not trusting himself to speak. Shisui smiled, sensing Itachi's nod, he then turned his back and walked to the edge of the cliff.

"Take care Itachi, please do your best, and for everything, thank you." Leaning back over the cliff, Shisui let gravity take over and pull him to the ground far below. Itachi just stared at where his best friend had just fallen. He felt a pain in his eyes as his mangekyo sharingan formed, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Right now those eyes didn't matter. Shisui did, and Shisui left him with a job.

Seishi was a wreck. The brother he cared so deeply for had apparently committed suicide, and due to the strain of the heart-break on his already sick mother, he had lost her three days later. Both funerals were held on the same day, and Seishi was absolutely numb throughout. The death of the two people he cared for the most, leaving him so emotionally drained he couldn't process the world around him anymore. After the funeral was over he was wasn't allowed to sleep in his own home anymore, immediately being taken by Itachi and accepted by Mikoto. He spent the next two days in their guest bedroom, barely leaving to use the bathroom or eat. The head family had all tried consoling him and easing alertness back into him, but their voices fell on deaf ears, muffled by a brain not wanting to listen. Seishi finally emerged from his room two days after the funeral. His eyes incapable of producing tears after extremely prolonged use. When he finally emerged it was Mikoto who saw him first. She was quite surprised since this was the first time he had willingly left the room.

"Seishi." She said with a small gasp, she immediately rushed over and knelt in front of him. "What's the matter? Are you hungry?" She said to him, motherly instincts kicking in full force. Seishi looked at her, his eyes glassy and unfocused, and said in a voice hoarse from not being used,

"I want to go home." Mikoto looked at him with sad eyes, immediately bringing him into her for a hug. Seishi was unresponsive at first, before his small arms crept around her and hugged her as hard as he could manage. His body shook as he wracked with sobs. Mikoto held him even tighter, this being the first time he had any physical contact with anyone besides Itachi. They stayed there for a bit, Mikoto ever patient with the grieving child. She stared at him worriedly knowing what the clan was about to undergo. She was never going to kick Seishi out of her home, he had a place there as long as he wanted to. Shisui and Seishi had been like another pair of sons to her. They were always around the house or out and about with Itachi and Sasuke. She loved them most dearly, but she was worried about the near future. As Mikoto held Seishi in her arms, she wondered how successful the coming coup was going to be, and if this home would belong to her much longer. She had tried to talk to Fugaku about postponing talks and preparations, but he would hear none of it. With the recent death of Shisui and Fugaku and the rest of the clan being suspicious of Itachi, she was worried about the potential outcomes. She hoped that whatever happened, her sons would be okay since they were the most important things in her life. Mikoto looked down at the mop of greasy, unkempt black hair on her shoulder. She spoke in a soothing voice,

"If that's truly what you want to do, I'll take you there." She said. Seishi looked up with widened eyes, and nodded his head. She worried about the impact seeing his home empty would have on him, but she figured it also might help his acceptance. Plus he needed to go outside, he has spent days cramped up inside and unmoving. This would also allow her a chance to grab some of his clothes to bring back with her. "Come with me Seishi, we'll go together." Mikoto said as she stood up and outstretched her hand. Seishi tentatively reached out and grasped her hand, and as soon as he did he clung to it like a life-line. Had Mikoto not been a Jounin with quite a bit of strength, his grip might've hurt a little. Seeing how she was however, it just showed her that he was still scared. "If at any point you start not feeling okay, let me know. We'll come back here and I'll make you whatever you want for dinner okay?" She said as they walked out the door. Seishi nodded but kept his eyes forward, his body on autopilot as he immediately started walking back home, dragging Mikoto slightly behind him.

They passed several of their clansmen on the way there. Most the men with grim and determined looks on their faces, and the women all looking at Seishi with a mixture of worry for him and relief for finally seeing him move around again. They finally arrived at Seishi's home after a few minutes of walking. When they walked up the small couple steps onto the porch, Seishi immediately took off from Mikoto. Throwing the door open he ran inside and looked around, hoping beyond hope that it was all just a really bad dream and he'd see his mother in bed, and Shisui preparing to cook dinner. Alas it was only dark and cold. Seishi looked all around the house, finally stopping as he looked at his mother's empty bed. He went inside and approached where she usually lay on the bed, putting his hand on the mattress gently. He then picked up the photo that lay on the table next to it, looking at all the smiling faces of his family. His father stood center with a hand on Shisui's shoulder to his right, and an arm around his mother with a lopsided grin on his face. His mother had a bright smile as she held an infant Seishi in her arms, her radiance captured within. Shisui stood under his father, doing his best to look as tall as he could. He smiled the biggest he could with his eyes nearly squinted shut with how he was contorting his face.

Seishi looked upon this picture, holding it for dear life as fresh tears finally poured forth. Mikoto stood behind him in the doorway, her hand on her heart as it broke for the poor child in front of her. Watching him cling to the framed picture like it was the last thing in the world brought her to tears as well. She had cried at the funeral sure. She mourned the loss of a son not by blood, and loss of one of her good friends. But seeing this, this small innocent child cracking under everything that he'd been through allowed her tears to fall freely. In her time as a ninja, she had experienced loss, grieved, and even told others of loss and seen them cry. But she'd never had this much emotional attachment to death, and she thought herself numb after seeing it so much. However, this proved to her that she was nowhere near the cold ninja she thought she was when she retired. She walked up to Seishi and bent down, hugging him from behind. As soon as felt her touch, Seishi whirled around and flung himself as close to Mikoto as he could. Wailing as he buried his head into her chest, he let everything go. All the emotions he'd been unfeeling to at the funeral, his not accepting they were well and truly gone, the pain it all felt of losing his last two family members in a set of days. It was all let out, and Mikoto was there to take it all. She and Seishi stayed connected like that till dusk. Mikoto finally rose, but when she went to pick up Seishi he resisted.

"Seishi let's go home. You need to eat, and I'm sure Sasuke and Itachi would love to see you up." Mikoto said in a soft voice. Seishi just shook his head. He slowly got up, with the picture still in hand, and proceeded to walk into Shisui's room and fall on his bed. Mikoto watched him with worry in her eyes. "Is this where you want to be right now?" She asked him. Seishi said nothing but nodded his head. Mikoto looked at him sadly, but conceded. Not wanting to push the child and wanting to let him mourn. She looked at his prone form and said, "That's okay. I'll make sure to send Sasuke or Itachi over here with dinner. I'll expect you at breakfast tomorrow. Don't make me come and get you." Seishi only nodded his head. She knew he'd be there, he always listened to her. She just didn't like leaving him there, but she knew everyone mourned a different way. If this was what he needed she wasn't going to force him. She sighed as she turned around and walked away. Being careful not to disturb anything on the way out. She decided she'd make Seishi's favorite anyway. She'd wait however till Itachi got home, she needed to talk to him anyway.

Seishi was unmoving as he heard Mikoto leave. He knew she was sad, but he couldn't bring himself to leave at this moment. His house still smelt like it always had, and Shisui's bed still smelled like him. Even though it had been a week since he… died. Seishi still found it hard to believe, but his mother and brother never let him be away from home so long before. The more time passed, the more he started to realize he would never be able to talk to Shisui or his mother again. Never see their smiling faces or hear their laughter. Everything inside Seishi hurt at this realization and he started to cry again. As dusk turned to night however, Seishi could feel his stomach start to wail almost as loud as he had been. He'd heard some commotion not too long ago, but he didn't care enough to check it out. Now as his stomach started protesting, he wondered if Mikoto had forgotten about him. He doubted it, but maybe he'd go over there just to check. Her cooking was really good after all, even better then Shisui's but not as good as his own mother's. As he dragged his feet to the door, he put on his little Shinobi sandals, a gift from his mother when he started the academy. She also said she'd have another one when he passed the fireball jutsu test. He didn't know what to think of that, since now he'll never know what it was. He was so close too. As he slipped outside he was hit by an odd smell.

As he peered down the road he saw the body of a man, lying still in the middle of it. "What? Is that Kazuki-san?" Questioned the small child. He jogged to where the body lay, and his eyes widened when he stepped in the dark colored mud surrounding the middle-aged Uchiha lying on the ground before him.

"Kazuki-san, are you okay?" Questioned the seven-year-old. As Seishi turned the body over his eyes widened, not exactly comprehending what he was seeing. The throat of the man before him was slashed, nearly torn off from force. Falling back and crawling away backwards, Seishi looked at the body in horror. He quickly got to his feet and made to run away, only to trip on a discarded weapon on the ground. As he slowly got from his knees, Seishi immediately ran towards the home of Mikoto, Itachi, and Sasuke. Stumbling from his lack of movement in the past week, and also avoiding all the other bodies strewn in the road. He stopped once to throw up, crying as he recognized many of the faces he passed by. Finally as he neared the home he saw Sasuke standing in the middle of the road .

Closing in on the boy, Seishi put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke slowly looked up to him, his eyes glazed over, looking at Seishi, but not really seeing him. Sasuke's eyes slowly cleared as they held eye contact, before they rolled to theck of his head and passed out

"Sasuke!?" Seishi yelled in shock, he didn't know what had happened to his fellow Uchiha, assuming it was near the same as his other clansmen, he kept calling his name, praying he'd wake up. As Seishi was shaking Sasuke's shoulder, he heard the sound of sandals colliding with gravel, as someone walked up to him. Seishi looked up, seeing the one person he idolized on par with his elder brother.

"Itachi-nii-san!" Seishi exclaimed. Jumping up he ran and hugged his practically second older brother. "What happened? Why is everyone hurt? Is Sasuke okay?" He asked rapidly, his voice still hoarse. As he looked up into what he expected to be warm onyx eyes, he instead stared into the mangekyo sharingan of Itachi. Seishi flinched at first, but recovered as he knew Itachi wouldn't hurt him. Itachi looked down at his best friends younger brother, contemplating what to do. As he looked into Seishi's eyes the 3 pronged iris of his mangekyo started spinning he was ready to do the same as he did to Sasuke. Put him in a Tsukiyomi and put him on the same path he had put Sasuke on. Seishi looked up confused, wondering about Itachi, until Itachi's eyes slowly stopped spinning and faded to the warm onyx eyes he grew up looking into. Itachi couldn't do that again. He already felt worse than ever over everything tonight, and having to do a second Tsukiyomi on Shisui's little brother he had sworn to protect on top of already doing one to Sasuke was too much.

Itachi smiled softly and kneeled down to be eye-level with the child. "Seishi, I'm sorry." Itachi started, " I have stopped a great crime, but committed one greater. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I expect you to seek revenge."

"But why? What happened? I don't understand." Seishi said looking the elder Uchiha in dark eyes. Tears falling from the man, which confused the small child. Seishi started forming tears of his own.

"You will one day" Itachi chuckled. Then he performed an action he normally reserved only for Sasuke. He brought his hand up, and with his index and middle-finger, poked Seishi right on the forehead. "Get strong, and please watch over Sasuke for me." Itachi slowly got up and began walking away. Seishi ran up to him and immediately grabbed one of his legs.

"No. Please don't leave me as well. I'm so sick of everyone leaving." Itachi let tears fall from his eyes once again tonight. Everything had been harder than expected, and much harder on his mind. Not only did he Sasuke manifest his sharingan temporarily and attack him, here stood Seishi begging him not to leave him as well. It wasn't fair to any of them, but nothing in a ninja's life was ever fair. Itachi slowly pried off Seishi's rather strong clutch on his legs and moved away. Once seeing that Seishi wasn't coming after him again, he turned around once more and jumped away. Leaving the only family he had left in this world to deal with something he wished to have been able to protect them from. Taking solace in the fact that they would live would have to be enough now. Itachi needed to be strong now, stronger than ever. He hoped that they would as well, so one day they could make him atone for his sins. Seishi stood there for a few minutes, his young mind still trying to process what had happened. Looking away from where Itachi was minutes before he went back to Sasuke, but as he near'd the raven-haired child two Anbu landed near them. The Anbu with a dog mask picked him up and rested his head on his shoulder, while a boar masked Anbu picked up the fainted Sasuke. Seishi was well past his limit on what he could handle. As soon as he felt secure in the Anbu's arms he fell unconscious.

The Anbu holding Seishi looked around at the ruins of the once proud and powerful clan. "It's a shame honestly. This could have all been avoided." He shook his head, and jumped away. In his arms rested one of the last two Uchiha Konoha had. They would be put under Anbu watch for awhile just like the young Uzumaki. Hopefully the mental strain these two have and will experience isn't too much for them to live some semblance of a normal life. The Hokage was gonna have a Yamanaka work with them to help ease the strain for sure. He just hoped it would be enough.


	2. Chapter 2- The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I own nothing about this piece except the OC. I'm not sure how fast updates will be, but I'll try to be quick while also delivering a well developed piece. The following chapters will also likely be longer as well. I hope you enjoy the read and I will accept any and all reviews. I love improving and I can't do that without feedback.**

 **I will be moving a little bit faster with the story. Doing small skips and telling small stories within. However it will still be slow overall, since I need to build a character there's no relation to. I did my best with the childrens dialogue, however any advice as to what I did wright or wrong would be greatly appreciated. It starts however the day after the Uchiha massacre. Enjoy.  
**

Seishi Uchiha awoke in a plain white room. He was in a plain white bed with plain white sheets. The air around him felt cold and smelled like rubbing alcohol. Seishi recognized the smell from the many times his mother or brother would bandage his cut and scrapes after playing too hard. The open window to his right let in plenty of sunlight, illuminating the room and allowing Seishi to look around. He recognized the room he was in rather quickly. He was lying in a hospital bed. Noticing the lack of pain from any physical wounds that would require Shisui to bring him here, he could only think that last night really wasn't some awful nightmare. In all honesty, Seishi still didn't truly know what happened. He had seen the bodies of his fellow clansmen on the ground, Sasuke, and Itachi. He had seen death before, but the reason why so many people seemed to have died around him eluded his traumatized brain. Seishi felt like someone would know around here. Hospitals were full of adults, but when he went to move his body just wouldn't obey. Seishi felt tired. Every muscle in his body felt devoid of energy, so he just laid there staring at the ceiling.

Not too long after however the door opened to reveal what seemed to be a nurse in an almost all-white uniform. She made eye contact with Seishi almost immediately and gave him a sad smile. As she neared the small Uchiha she noticed that he tensed up. Trying to be gentle to the young boy she spoke,

"It's okay. I'm not going to harm you. I'm just here to make sure you're okay." She said to him as she came up to the bed. Seishi just looked at her blankly, his brain slowly processing everything before him. "You must be thirsty. Do you want some water?" She asked speaking softly. That got Seishi's attention. It wasn't until that moment he realized how dry his throat seemed. He nodded slowly to the nurse. She smiled and reached over to the bedside table where a pitcher of water and several plastic cups rested should Seishi felt the need to get himself water. She helped the boy into a sitting position, resting his back and neck against the cool metal bars that served as the headboard before she poured a cup of water and proceeded to give it to the boy.

Seishi slowly moved his arm up and grasped the cup. It took a little bit of concentration but he finally got the liquid into his mouth and down his dry throat. The cool liquid felt like heaven to Seishi and he proceeded to greedily drink the cup and beckon his empty cup for a refill. The nurse gave him a full refill before setting the pitcher back down and speaking to the boy. "A man will be by soon Uchiha-san. He will have questions for you and might answer any questions you might have for him. Just try and sit tight til then okay?" She informed the small child with a smile on her face. Seishi only nodded before slumping against the bars. After roughly half-an-hour a man did indeed enter the room. He was obviously a Jonin by the vest he wore. He had blonde hair done in a long ponytail and blue Shinobi pants and sandals. He also carried an envelope that seemed to be full of papers under one arm. Seishi stared blankly at the man, watching as he walked up to the bed, pulled a chair around to him, and sat down at the bedside.

"Hello Seishi, my name is Inoichi Yamanaka." The man introduced himself. His voice wasn't particularly deep but it had a slight rasp to it. The name rung a bell in Seishi's head, but he couldn't put it together at that moment. "The Hokage has asked me specifically to check on you and help you grieve over the next two weeks. I want to start with any questions you may have for me before I begin to ask you questions." Seishi looked at him for awhile before finally voicing a questions,

"Where's Itachi-nii-san and Sasuke?" The seven-year-old asked the man. Inoichi sighed. He knew there was no chance the young Uchiha before him would have any questions that were easy to answer without burdening him even more. However Inoichi knew that the mind of a child was fragile and he had to be very delicate about anything and everything he answered.

"I'll answer Sasuke first. He is currently in the room next door," Inoichi paused as he saw Seishi's eyes light up. He continued first before the young boy asked what he could not have, "However, you may not see him right now. He is currently asleep, and we're unsure when he'll wake up." Seishi visibly deflated before picking up on the rest of Inoichi's answer.

"Is Sasuke okay?" The young boy asked. This was also a tough question for Inoichi. He had never known anything like the technique Itachi used on Sasuke. The very thought that he would go that far on his own little brother left a bad taste in Inoichi's mouth. He himself was capable of corrupting someone's mind with his techniques, but when he looked inside of the brain of the comatose Uchiha, he had been shaken to his core. He was worried about the mental stability of young Sasuke and would be reporting to the Hokage of the potential flight risk. If he woke up. The images Itachi had burned into the child's brain would never leave young Sasuke's mind, and Inoichi doubted they would leave his either. Seishi saw the man space out a tad before calling back to him, "Inoichi-san are you okay? Is Sasuke okay?" The young boy asked again, his voice becoming a little bit more normal with more use.

Inoichi shook his head before looking back to the young Uchiha in front of him. "Sasuke is okay right now, but I'm not sure about soon." Seishi visibly looked more worried about that. Showing more emotion now than he had since Inoichi had gotten here. Sasuke was one of Seishi's good friends and it was good to see that he wasn't blocked off emotionally. "Let me ask a few questions in turn Seishi. This may hurt, but what do you remember about last night?" Seishi paled a little when Inoichi asked him that. He sat there for a while thinking. The events felt hazy to the young child, but after a short amount of time he finally did answer the Yamanaka.

"The first thing I remember is being hungry. I wanted to get something to eat so I was going to see Sasuke's and Itachi's mom. Then I remembered seeing someone on the ground. Then I saw Itachi. He looked sad, but then he left me. He left me like everyone else has." Inoichi opened his folder and looked into it. The events matched with the mission report the Hokage had given him of the aftermath. Granted Seishi didn't give him much, but it was surprising his young brain didn't completely block out the entire event all together. Inoichi looked back up to the boy to see tears falling down his face. Inoichi's felt a pang in his heart. What these two boys had to go through was awful. Sasuke lost everything in one night and was mentally tortured by Itachi, while Seishi systematically lost everything he held dear, starting with his own brother. Seishi looked up at him, tears spilling down his cheeks. He then asked Inoichi, voice cracking "Why is everyone leaving me? What did I do?" Inoichi heaved a heavy sigh. Dealing with enemy ninja was one thing, but dealing with heartbroken children was another.

"You didn't do anything wrong Seishi." Inoichi said softly to the child. "Sometimes the world is cruel and isn't fair." Seishi closed his eyes and sobbed. He finally spoke again,

"But why me?" He asked the man. Inoichi set his folder down before reaching out and embracing the boy. He may have been given this mission as a Jonin ninja, but the man was still a father and before him was a sad child his daughter's age. He hugged the boy as and let the child sob into his arms. It would take awhile for the boy to heal, if ever, but for right now he was here for him. Once the tears finally stopped Inoichi laid the boy down onto the hospital bed. The child had practically cried himself to sleep on his shoulder. Inoichi sighed again before tucking in the small Uchiha. The questions would wait until tomorrow. Tonight, he would get some sleep. Inoichi would be there for the two boys, at least while he was ordered too.

Two weeks had passed before Seishi was allowed to leave the hospital. He had heard that Sasuke had woken up, but the nurses wouldn't allow him to see Sasuke. When he was finally released he was led by an Anbu from the hospital to the new apartment he and Sasuke would be staying at until they felt comfortable enough to go home to the Uchiha clan compound. When he got there he was greeted by a plain looking brown haired woman named Akane, who said she'd be taking care of them for as long as they needed it. She seemed nice enough but Seishi would have preferred his own family. That was no longer possible however, and as hard as that was to admit, it was something Seishi had to get used to. Seishi had been granted one audience with the Hokage immediately after his release from the hospital where the old man had expressed his extreme regret and condolences over the whole affair. Seishi thought he meant well enough, but it still didn't take away the pain. The Hokage also expressed that if he or Sasuke needed anything, all they had to do was ask. Even Seishi knew that meant a lot coming from the most powerful man in the village, but he didn't know of anything to ask at that point so he just said thank you and left.

Seishi currently found himself walking the streets amongst the masses of people going about their business for the day. He'd been allowed to go out for the day but only until dark. He was currently in the market area, where people would sell their fresh grown produce from stands lined up and down the street. He remembered walking through here a few times with both his mother and brother, getting fresh produce for dinner or maybe a fruit for a snack on the walk home. Every once in a while when he was really good, his mother would buy him some chocolate from one of the stores that were located inside a building rather than outside it. He was a little hungry though which was why he was here in the first place. Seishi approached a stand selling a variety of fruits, and his eyes laid upon a particularly good-looking apple. Seishi picked it up and appraised it for a second. His mother had taught him how to tell good fruits and veggies from bad ones, and so he put that to practice here. The apple was a bright red with no soft spots or bruises, yep a perfect apple in Seishi's eyes. As he started to pull out his small pouch that kept his allowance money in it the stand lady spoke to him, startling the small boy.

"Oh don't you mind dear." She said to the boy. Giving him a large smile she gestured for the boy to take it. "It's a gift from me to you. Take it." Seishi was a little surprised, he had never been just given something before that wasn't from someone in his clan. Seishi gave her a questioning look before holding out his money to her. Her smile stayed the same as she pushed the hand holding the money back to him. "Keep your money dear, the apple is a gift." She said to the young boy, stressing the word 'gift'. Seishi nodded and put his money away, giving her a small smile he said "Thank you" before turning and walking away. He was still rather confused about the apple being free, but that thought was pushed out when he looked at the apple. It looked ready to be eaten, and that's exactly what he did. Taking a large bite he relished in the taste. The juices exploded out of the apple, some even dripping down his chin, which he was quick to wipe away. It was unseemly to have food on your face, or so his mom drilled into him and Shisui when they were younger.

Putting the kindness of the old lady away, Seishi continued on his slow path down the streets, enjoying the crunch of his apple as he did so. He soon made it to a small park, where he saw other kids playing and having fun, the parents not too far away chatting together or reading as their children ran around. His smile dropped and he felt his chest tighten at the sight. He'd come to this park before with Shisui and his mother Mayume to play. Shisui felt some tears resurface again and sat down on a nearby bench. He thought he was done crying, but apparently he wasn't as over it as he thought. He sat there with his head in his hands until he felt a small tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see a girl his age looking down at him. She had messy platinum blonde hair that was cropped above her shoulders. She had pale light blue eyes and was wearing a pair of green shorts that had straps coming over her shoulders on top of a light blue t-shirt and she wore plain sandals.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, bending down a little to be eye level with him. Seishi shot back rubbing his eyes clear of tears. An Uchiha wasn't supposed to show weakness and he already failed that.

' _Some Uchiha I am'_ he thought bitterly. As soon as he got done rubbing his eyes he gave the girl a smile and said "Yep. Totally fine." The girl gave him an odd look before glancing behind her and then back at him.

"Well do you wanna come play with us? We're playing tag right now and then I'm gonna show them how to make flower wreaths like my momma taught me." She asked the boy gesturing to the group of girls behind her that were doing their best to look like they weren't listening in. Seishi gave her an odd look. This was another first for him. He had never played with children outside of his clan, and even then it was mostly with Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke. So of course he asked a simple question since this was an anomaly,

"Why?" Asked the Uchiha. The girl looked slightly miffed before answering back quickly,

"Why not?" Seishi found himself unable to come up with an argument. So when the girl stuck her hand out to him he accepted it without thinking too much. As he was being led to the group of girls he had just one final question,

"What's your name?" Seishi asked, knowing it was polite to introduce yourself first. The girl stopped as she turned around.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka. Nice to meet ya. What's your name?" She said smiling to the boy. He smiled back before replying,

"Seishi Uchiha. Thank you for asking me to play." Ino's smile grew as she returned to leading him to the group. Seishi was nervous at first. He had never played with people outside of his clan, and especially being the only guy around all these girls. He was embarrassed at first but soon got over it and had fun. They played tag for a while and Seishi spent the most time not "it" because he was just faster than them. That is until they ganged up on him and doggy piled him making him the "loser", even though he was pretty sure there wasn't a loser in tag. Then they spent another little bit collecting flowers from the field they were in before they all sat down and watched as Ino made a wreath. Ino then went about teaching them all how to make one. The quickest to catch on was a pink haired girl that Seishi learned was named Sakura. He however, was the slowest. Ino had to basically sit down beside him and work with him step by step. He soon got it and was proud to say his looked the best, even if the other girls didn't think so. He put the wreath on his head and was happy it didn't fall apart. Not too long after that the girls started leaving one by one until it was only him and Ino left. After struggling for a few moments he finally got the courage to speak.

"Hey Ino". The girl just hummed in response while turning to look at him. Seishi felt his face heat up a little before speaking, "Thank you. I had a lot of fun and it's all thanks to you."

Ino looked at him, smiling as she spoke, "It's no problem Seishi-kun. I'm just happy we all had fun." Seishi smiled at hearing that. They spoke amicably for a little longer until a mature voice was heard.

"Ino. It's time to go home." They both stood up at the sound of the voice, and Seishi's eyes widened at who he saw. Before him was Inoichi Yamanaka, the man who talked with him and helped him for days at the hospital. "Dinner is probably almost ready, and your mother will kill me if we're late." He said reaching a hand out to his daughter. The man was smiling down at the both of them, having been here the whole time his daughter was. He had seen Seishi arrive and was going to go speak to the boy himself when he saw the distraught face the boy had, but had a genius thought instead. He had used one of the smaller of his clan's jutsu and sent it at Ino. All it did was cause her to look at a point of interest, which had been Seishi. He then let it take care of the rest, he knew his daughter would not just sit there while she knew Seishi was over there sad. When he saw her talk to him and then drag him over to her friends, he couldn't help the huge smile that not only appeared, but stuck to his face. His daughter loved being the hero and helping people in need, and he knew Seishi needed a friend. He didn't manipulate his daughter, god no, her actions were all hers. He just gave her a small nudge, and hopefully this will help them both out. At least until his daughter became interested in boys, then it was over.

"Yes Dad." Ino said with a sigh. Inoichi gave himself another pat on the back. It seemed she liked the boy enough that she still wanted to hang out with him. There would be time for that, but right now he needed to get home and prepare his folder for his questioning of Sasuke in the morning.

"Don't you have somewhere to be too Seishi-kun?" Seishi's eyes widened as he took in how dark it was getting. The sun was beginning to set and he didn't want to give a bad first impression. His mother had taught him that first impressions meant the most.

"Yeah you're right Inoichi-san. Bye Ino-chan." Seishi said as he took off running and waved behind him. The girl waved back and watched him go. She looked up at her father whose smile had never left.

"You ready Dad?" She asked him. Shaking the man out of his stupor. He looked down at his little girl and his smile grew wider. He bent down and picked her up laughing at her shriek of surprise from the unexpected lift. "I'm not a child anymore Dad. I can walk." She yelled as he moved her around until she was piggyback behind him. Inoichi laughed before saying,

"Nope. Still my little girl." He heard her groan which only caused him to laugh more. As they made their way home, his thoughts returned to the young Uchiha. _'It seems he will be able to live normal barring any other unforeseen trauma that shuts him up. Him playing with Ino proved that he still has some the innocence of childhood left in him. Now I just have to worry about Sasuke. He'll be a lot of work.'_ Inoichi grimaced at his thoughts. Sasuke would indeed be a lot of work for him, but he was the best at what he did for a reason. Sasuke may take a while to recover, but Inoichi was sure he would. He would make sure of it, even if he had to lock away those memories. Plus Sasuke wasn't alone, from what he saw of Sasuke's memories, he and Seishi had a good friendship. If his little Ino could get Seishi to come out this much so soon, he was sure Seishi himself would help Sasuke get over these traumatic events. Such was the blessing of children.

Two more weeks had passed until Seishi saw Sasuke again. He was told the night before by an Anbu visitor that his fellow Uchiha was about to be released so he was the first one to meet him just outside the hospital doors. There were many false alarms as the traffic to the hospital was quite frequent, but finally the doors opened revealing his Uchiha brethren with a boar masked Anbu by his side. Seishi jumped up from the small wooden bench he was sitting on and ran over to them.

"Sasuke!" Seishi yelled as he barreled into the slightly older Uchiha. Seishi gave him the biggest hug he could muster. He would have hugged even tighter but he felt resistance and finally broke it off to notice that it was Sasuke who was pushing him away. A little put off, but undeterred, Seishi spoke to him again. Throwing Sasuke's way a barrage of questions. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Did the food suck?" Seishi pestered Sasuke with even more mundane questions. The only look he got from his fellow Uchiha was a dour look.

"Shut up." Was the reply Seishi got, and one he was not happy with.

"Hey Sasuke, what's the matter?" Seishi questioned again. Slightly hurt that was the first response he got from the only other Uchiha in the village. Sasuke just gave him another angry look before it melted away. Sasuke looked down and closed his eyes, trying to hold back tears. Sasuke then proceeded to run into Seishi, this time he was the one who initiated the hug. Seishi was confused but accepted the embrace. After a little bit Sasuke pulled away doing his best to try and look tough after almost crying. "Better?" Seishi asked him. Sasuke only nodded before walking past him. Seishi gave him a questioning look but shrugged his shoulders and fell into step beside him. The Anbu silently following just a couple paces behind. When Sasuke was about to go down a road that led to their clan grounds, he was tugged by Seishi who pointed in the other direction.

"We're not going home?" Sasuke asked his friend, to which Seishi replied with a shake of his head before replying,

"We're staying in this new place until we think we're okay to go home." Seishi informed his fellow Uchiha. A wave of relief flooded Sasuke's face at that news. He then began to walk with Seishi in the new direction. After a few steps he spoke,

"Good. I don't wanna go there anyway." Seishi looked at him again before asking,

"Why not?" Sasuke stopped walking and stared at him.

"You want to go back?" Sasuke asked incredulously. The very thought he would want to go there baffled him. He couldn't stand to be there right now. The only reason he had even started walking that way was because he didn't know he had another option. Now that he did know, he didn't want to touch that land or those houses with a thousand-foot pole.

"I mean it's home. I know it'll be weird with everyone… you know. But it's home." Seishi defended himself. Seishi knew it would be difficult for him as well, but he'd never known another home until just recently. Sasuke however couldn't fathom Seishi's viewpoint. The fact that everyone was gone just made it that much worse. That place was a graveyard now in his eyes. He'd much rather take whatever new home that Seishi was supposedly taking him to over his clan home. "The Hokage said we could go back when we're ready, until then no one would touch it unless it's being cleaned." Seishi informed Sasuke. Sasuke himself felt a second wave of relief at not being forced back there so soon. He started walking again in the direction Seishi pointed when he spoke again as they walked, "This new place is alright. It isn't home, but it's still nice. Also since you don't want to go back now, I'll just wait till you're ready to go back before I do as well." Seishi told the boy beside him.

"Thank you." Sasuke replied, touched that he wouldn't be alone. Itachi had taken so much from him, but at least he didn't take everything. He looked over at his fellow Uchiha and wondered how he seemed so carefree. He decided to voice his concerns,

"Why are you happy? Shouldn't you be just as angry and upset as I am? We both just lost everything we knew." Sasuke asked the boy in a small voice. Seishi heard him clearly however and stopped walking, his eyes becoming downcast. Sasuke turned behind him, seeing the boys shoulders stoop and subsequently the Anbu still behind him.

"I am angry. I am upset. I miss everyone so badly. I want Shisui. I want my mother." Seishi spoke. His voice was quiet, so much so that Sasuke came closer to hear him better. "I want to go home. I want to see Itachi-nii." Sasuke tensed up at the mention of that name, but Seishi didn't see and continued talking. "I want this all to be a bad dream. I've had a little bit more time to think about everything Sasuke, plus I lost my mother and brother before this happened." Seishi had a couple tears fall while he was speaking, but he pressed on, oblivious to the myriad of emotions Sasuke was going through at seeing the only other family he had being so upset. "I've talked with a ninja named Inoichi, and he told me of some ways to try and get over it. I'm obviously not yet but I'm trying. So to answer your question, yes I am upset. I'm not happy right now, but I'm trying. I've made a couple friends and I was so happy to hear you were getting out and I wouldn't be by myself anymore in a new home. That's why I'm smiling Sasuke." Seishi finished with a huff. Dumping an emotional load on a possibly fragile Uchiha that was just released, but Seishi didn't care. It felt good getting that off his chest, he just hoped he didn't upset Sasuke with that outburst.

Sasuke only stood there stunned. He had not expected half of what his fellow Uchiha just said. The mention of Itachi did irk him a tad, but that was outshone by the guilt he felt for asking questions he himself was not ready to answer. Sasuke shook his head before moving over to his clansmen and grabbing him by the shoulder. "I'm sorry." Sasuke began, "Let's go home." Seishi gave him a small smile before nodding his assent. The Anbu behind them filing this entire conversation for his mission report later, the Hokage would be happy to hear about the empathetic bond forming between the last two Uchiha this village had to offer. As they were walking a loud rumble was heard. Sasuke blushed in embarrassment while Seishi gave a small laugh.

"Food not that good in the hospital?" Seishi asked Sasuke. Sasuke just shook his head no. Seishi laughed again before speaking, "Well when we get there, I'm sure Akane-nee will be happy to cook ua a big meal."

"Who?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. The Hokage assigned someone to us to cook and clean until we think we no longer need her." Sasuke felt displeased with that. He didn't need another mother, but Seishi had essentially called her an older sister, so maybe that was okay. He was a proud Uchiha, one that didn't need a babysitter. _'Although mom did say I couldn't cook yet.'_ Sasuke thought. His mental battle decided, he assented to the thought of someone looking after him. If he couldn't cook, how was he gonna survive? Plus Seishi also mentioned they only had her so long as they thought they needed her.

"So." Seishi spoke grabbing Sasuke from his thought war, "When do you think you'll be ready to meet my new friends? I was thinking tomorrow." Sasuke was taken aback for a moment, he wasn't sure he was serious about that. They still had to go to the Academy soon right? Shouldn't they be preparing for ninja stuff? Even if Seishi didn't want to anymore, Sasuke absolutely still did. Itachi had told him to kill him, so he needed to become a ninja and get stronger.

"No." Sasuke said. Seishi gave him a confused glance curious as to why not. "Itachi told me to kill him, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm not going to see your friends, I'm going to get ready for the academy." Seishi was thrown for a loop. He had not been expecting this. Sasuke not wanting to meet his friends yet, maybe. Sasuke refusing to meet them so he could train, no. "You can join me if you want, but only you." Sasuke finished up. One thing that Sasuke said still rang in Seishi's ears.

"Why did Itachi say to kill him?" Seishi asked. He saw Sasuke flinch. He was genuinely curious. Seishi vaguely remembered seeing Itachi the night it all happened, but his memory was still foggy. The only thing he remembered about Itachi that night was the poke and the tears. He didn't remember anything about killing Itachi. It just seemed so wrong after everything that happened. Looking at Sasuke, Seishi saw his eyes flare in anger. Sasuke spoke through grit teeth, obviously extremely upset.

"He killed everyone Seishi. Everyone we cared about. Our family. My family." Sasuke closed his eyes. Still not yelling but raising his voice he spoke again, "He forced me to watch him kill everyone over and over again. Including my mother and father. Over and over I watched him do it. The only thing he said to me during it was to harness my anger, get stronger, and to seek revenge." Seishi's eyes widened, he had no idea Itachi had done that to Sasuke. He understood even more why Sasuke so angry. Of course Seishi was angry too. He grieved over the loss of his clan, but he had lost his mother and brother before that. What happened to him that night was nothing like what happened to Sasuke. The very thought that Itachi would do that to Sasuke was hard to understand to his little mind. Itachi loved Sasuke just as much as Shisui loved him. Something about getting revenge rung a bell in Seishi's head, but he couldn't place a finger on it. The thought of it all left a bad taste in his mouth, just like the thought of that night nearly a month ago still repulsed him.

"But why?" Seishi asked. "Why would Itachi ask that after what he did? I don't get it." Seishi questioned him. Sasuke scowled but answered angrily,

"Does it matter?" The Uchiha said. "All that matters is I get stronger and avenge our clan. To do that I need to train." With that final piece Sasuke stomped forward leaving Seishi behind in his thoughts. When Seishi realized he had been left behind he chased after Sasuke,

"Wait for me." He called out. "You still don't know where you're going." Watching the boys run ahead, the boar masked Anbu processed all that happened in his mind for his report later. Things weren't as nice as he had first percieved, but the Hokage would know about everything that transpired. He moved after his charges for the day, staying in the background as he had done the entire time. As other Anbu would do for the next two years of these boy's lives.


	3. Chapter 3- Life Goes On

**Still starting off at age 7, but we'll be in the Academy now. Seeing how their classmates react to the two Uchiha's returning to class. This chapter will be two stories with more character development. Not much time has passed. If you don't appreciate the slow pacing, please understand that I need to build connections with the OC, or else the story will go nowhere and my OC will be meaningless and inconsequential, which is two of my biggest fears in the development of this story. Anyways, sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoy and please review so I can improve.**

The sun. An incredible phenomenon that is crucial to the growth of the world. It fills not only plants with vitality, but also everyone in the world. It signals the start to a new day in spectacular fashion. Which was exactly the problem in this current moment. That same incredible phenomenon was currently invading the personal space of one young Seishi Uchiha. Coming through the window of his room and smacking right in the face. The very same window Seishi was sure he had closed the curtains on to prevent this exact scenario.

"Get up." Was the first thing Seishi heard to greet the new day. With a grumble Seishi slowly sat up. After wiping his eyes Seishi was able to see exactly who it was that betrayed his trust so. None other than the other Uchiha in Konoha, his almost brother Sasuke. Sasuke stood right beside that horribly placed window, not even trying to hide his crimes. Sasuke was dressed for the day already. Sasuke stood there in a pair of black shorts, a light blue high collared shirt, and ninja sandals.

"For why?" mumbled Seishi, his mind still on sleep.

"We're going to the Academy today. We've missed too much." Sasuke replied. Sasuke then walked over to Seishi's dresser that he kept his clothes in and started rummaging through. Once Sasuke found what he was looking for, he started tossing them to Seishi. Seishi grumbled when a pair of gray shorts him in the face. Realizing what the object was he put them on, getting hit by a flying shirt in the process.

"I didn't think you were serious about going already." Seishi spoke to the intruder. "I mean, you just got out yesterday, aren't you wanting to take it slow?" He asked. Sasuke looked back at him after Seishi got finished dressing and calmly responded.

"No. I want to start getting stronger now." Seishi rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He just picked at the shoulders of his white t-shirt as he walked by Sasuke and towards the bathroom. After finishing his morning relief and brushing his teeth, he met Sasuke in the kitchen. Ayane was already there and serving Sasuke's breakfast. She noticed Seishi walk in and greeted him with a smile,

"Good morning Seishi-san. I hope you like eggs." Seishi nodded to her before sitting down and resting his head on his folded arms that now laid upon the table. Sasuke and Ayane were silent as Seishi laid there, and he didn't move until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Ayane presented his breakfast to him on a plain plate before moving back to start on the dishes.

"Thank you Ayane-san." Seishi said to the kind woman. She replied with a quick "Your welcome" before she returned her focus to the dishes before her. Seishi ate quick. Taking no notice to anything but the plate in front of him. When he was finished he gave his plate to Ayane before he made his way to the front door, where Sasuke was already waiting. Seishi put on his ninja sandals and made his way outside, still following Sasuke. When the morning air greeted Seishi he took a deep breath. A light mist was present around Konoha and Seishi could feel the chill of the water. It definitely finished the job of waking him up.

Sasuke immediately took off in the direction of the academy. Seishi soon fell into step beside him, his morning aches being soothed away by the use of his limbs.

"You excited to go back?" Seishi asked Sasuke while they walked.

"Not really." Sasuke replied, "But I have to if I want to get stronger." Seishi sighed upon hearing that line again. It was already starting to irk him, and Sasuke had only said it a few times. At least he was motivated.

"I want to get stronger too," Seishi began, "But only because I want to make my mom and Shisui proud of me." Sasuke just grunted in response before the two fell into silence once again.

The walk to the academy wasn't terribly far, only a few minutes, but on the way Seishi just admired how early all the people were along the marked road setting up all their shops and preparing their goods for the day. A few people waved to the two boys as they walked, and they both politely waved back. A couple even called out a greeting to them, which again they politely replied to. One lady even went so far as to bring the two boys a pair of oranges. Seishi was quick to politely decline, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. Sasuke was the first of the two to grab one, giving her a "thank you" before beginning to walk again. Seishi followed in his footsteps, already starting to peel the orange when he caught up to Sasuke.

Around the time Seishi finished his orange was when they arrived at the academy. The academy itself was quite large. Located directly next to the Hokage building itself, it sported bright red doors with the Leaf symbol right above them. The building itself was mostly white with red shingles and a flat roof. Beautiful green trees grew all around the building itself, and on the opposite side of the courtyard in front of it. Students had already begun pouring into the building while some said goodbye to their parents as they departed from them. Seishi saw Sasuke out of the corner of his eye tense at the sight and stop walking. Seishi himself stopped, returning next to the now upset Uchiha. Sasuke had his fist clenched as he eyed the scene of the children and their parents. He didn't even notice Seishi until he felt a hand fall upon his shoulder. When the hand collided with Sasuke's shoulder, Sasuke jumped. Seishi looked at him with concerned eyes, and asked him,

"Are you okay?" Sasuke just closed his eyes and nodded before marching forward. Shoulders tense and his movement rigid. Seishi felt bad for Sasuke. He'd only been out of the hospital for one day and had obviously not yet recovered as much as Seishi made himself to seem. The pain was obvious for anyone to see if they knew Sasuke. Everything in his posture and his walk screamed "Angry", but Seishi could only watch. Seeing Sasuke upset put a damper on Seishi's attitude about the day. Seishi wasn't as affected because he had already been trying to live on the past two weeks, and especially after being in the park to play with Ino and talking with her father, it had helped Seishi not get so upset or cry anytime he saw another child with their parent. Talking to Ino's dad Inoichi about everything also helped a lot. He was always willing to listen.

Seishi sighed before trailing after Sasuke. They were still in the same class as before everything happened, so when Seishi finally got to his classroom he walked in on many familiar faces. The classroom itself was quite spacious. It had a chalkboard at the front and desk in front of that. Across from those were the desks. They rose up after every row in an auditorium like fashion. They had three columns of tables that were filled with four tables each. When Seishi walked in the room was oddly quiet. He immediately noticed why as most kids stared at Sasuke who had already taken a seat in the furthest seat away from the door and next to a window. When Seishi began walking forward, he immediately drew the eyes of the class. Seishi took a second to look back at them. Most of his class was full of normal people, but a few were from clans like him. He only knew a couple, those being Shikamaru Nara, an apparently really smart kid who wore his hair in a pineapple style, Kiba Inuzuka, a rowdy child who always had his dog Akamaru with him, and Choji Akimichi, a robust boy who always hung around Shikamaru and was never too far from food. Seishi felt like there would be more, but he hadn't gotten to know them before. His new best friend Ino was the heir to the Yamanaka clan, and he didn't even know she was in his class until they brought it up one day while they played. If he was going to be a ninja he needed to straighten up in that aspect. Seeing all eyes on him however, Seishi felt embarrassment at being the center of attention. Seishi immediately began walking towards where Sasuke sat before his eyes caught a familiar head of blond hair.

The person associated to that hair was Ino Yamanaka. Seishi's newest best friend outside of Sasuke. She immediately beckoned him over to the empty seat beside her which he was quick to oblige to. With a smile he immediately zoomed into the seat next to her.

"Hey Ino-chan." Seishi smiled as he greeted her. She smiled back before replying,

"Good morning Seishi-kun. I can't believe you're here. I thought you might not be coming back so soon." Ino rambled on. Seishi chuckled nervously. He scratched the side of his cheek in embarrassment before saying,

"I actually wasn't going to come today until Sasuke made me." Mentioning his fellow Uchiha's name brought Sasuke to the forefront of his mind again. Looking over to where Sasuke sat Seishi saw Sasuke glaring back at him. They locked eyes for a few seconds before Sasuke grunted and looked out the window again. Seishi felt his heart sink a bit. He could tell Sasuke was upset at him for not sitting by him, but he couldn't help it. Ino caught his eye and he got distracted at seeing his friend again. Seishi hoped Sasuke wouldn't be too mad for too long, or else things would be awkward later for him.

His attention returned to the Yamanaka beside him and to a pink haired girl named Sakura Haruno that was on the other side of her. Sakura was Ino's best friend and Seishi had gotten to know her through the many times he played at the park with them over last couple of weeks. The three of them talked amicably while they waited for their sensei to show up. Seishi did his best to ignore the whispering around him. He could hear his and Sasuke's name pop up and he was pretty sure he knew why. What happened to his clan had not really been a secret nor was it a secret of who did it. He had heard from Inoichi that Itachi had been labeled a criminal and recognized for the crimes he committed. Seishi still could hardly believe it, but the facts were there and he had to accept them, as hard as that had been. The whisperings were loud, but Seishi was able to ignore them, that is until Kiba Inuzuka said something he definitely should not have.

"I can't believe the entire Uchiha clan was killed by one guy. They must have been weak to let that happen. Not even my mom could take our entire clan and she's the head." Seishi whirled around, his eyes wide in shock that he'd heard such blasphemy. Seishi was about to start yelling in the defense of his name and clan, but apparently Sasuke had heard him as well.

"What did you just say?" Sasuke growled out. Kiba turned to face Sasuke, a lopsided grin on his face.

"You heard me. If your clan was that weak, that just means my clan is stronger and everyone should stop praising the Uchiha." Kiba boasted out. Seishi was beyond livid, he was about to stand up himself but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke had walked down from his seat and was now in between Seishi and Kiba. Sasuke was staring at Kiba with a menacing glare, and Kiba didn't back down from it.

"Take it back." Sasuke said to Kiba. Kiba laughed a little before shaking his head. His grin still there, seeming to antagonize Seishi and Sasuke even more.

"Am I wrong?" Kiba asked. "Your clan must've been weak if it was done by one person only." The room was silent during this exchange. All eyes and ears on the two clan heirs as they attempted to stare each other down. That is until a quiet "Troublesome" was heard from the back of the room.

"It was my brother that did this." Sasuke said, his voice raising with each word. "And he was NOT WEAK!" With that final remark Sasuke jumped at Kiba tackling him to the ground and starting a wrestling match. With all the commotion the teacher of that class, Iruka Umino, rushed in from outside to break the two up. Pulling the two boys away was not very difficult for the Chunin teacher that came in. He had them both by the collar of their clothing, dangling them in the air. He pulled them both away from each other, but still hoisted above the ground so they couldn't continue fighting.

"What do you two think you're doing?" He yelled at them. Both boys were silent, still staring at each other in anger. Kiba's lip seemed to be bleeding and Sasuke's cheek was starting to swell, but their seemed to be no other injuries besides that. Iruka looked between the two before Kiba answered first.

"He started it." Kiba said. Iruka set him down just to smack him upside the head and pick him up again. Kiba yelped in pain before struggling to get out of Iruka's death grip.

"I don't care who started it. It's over now!" Iruka yelled again. The classroom was dead silent watching the events unfold. "Now sit down. You both have detention after class today." Iruka then dropped them both. Sasuke and Kiba both fell down to their butts before Sasuke got up in a huff and returned to his seat in the corner. Kiba scrambled back into his seat, trying to hide the tears coming from his eyes in anger. Seeing that the fighting had officially stopped Iruka walked to the front of the room towards the chalkboard and began writing today's lesson.

Seishi looked back at Sasuke to see if he was alright, but Sasuke was just looking out the window and giving just the slightest of glances towards the chalkboard. Seishi then turned to Kiba. He was still mad at Kiba for what he said, and he likely wouldn't forgive him for awhile, but Seishi was pretty sure Sasuke won the scuffle and so he was content for the moment. He was fine until he felt a sharp pain in the side of his head.

"OW!" Seishi yelled, clutching the point of impact just above his ear on the left side of his head. He looked down at his desk to see a small piece of chalk sitting on his desk, and deducing the only place that could come from looked towards the front. Iruka was giving him a stern look.

"Pay attention Seishi. Everyone else is looking up here but you, and I expect your full attention." Iruka said before grabbing another piece of chalk and continued writing. Seishi was baffled, he wasn't even looking away that much. It dawned on him that Iruka probably thought that since he was looking at Kiba he was going to start another fight. Unfair, but he'd get over it. Seishi then gave his full attention to the front. Iruka was a rather average-sized man with tan skin and a scar across the bridge of his nose. His hair was brown in the pineapple hairstyle plenty of people seemed to appreciate, though Seishi didn't know why it was so popular, and he wore the standard Chunin attire of a green Chunin vest, a blue sweater, and blue pants with even more blue shinobi sandals. _'Lots of blue'_ Seishi noted. The topic Seishi saw on the board that Iruka had just finished writing dubbed 'The Second Hokage's Reign.' Seishi mused on the topic for a second. The only thing he really knew about the Second Hokage was his name, which was Tobirama Senju, and his renown for his water jutsu. Other than that Seishi was stumped, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn more. So he decided to give Iruka most of his attention, while some still lingered on his worry for Sasuke.

The day itself was rather slow. The highlights were definitely his lunch break and the one really interesting thing he learned about the Second Hokage, that being that he sacrificed himself to save his team, and on that team was the current Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been named Hokage by the Second just before he sacrificed himself. The bell ringing was always a blessing and Seishi was almost the first out the door. Out in the courtyard many parents could be seen mingling and waiting for their children. He spotted Inoichi and gave him a wave before going to a tree across the courtyard and sitting on a small rope swing that hung off of it. He waved goodbye to some of his classmates as they walked by. After finally what felt like forever, there was movement again. He had seen Kiba come and go first, being dragged by the ear away from the academy by a rather fierce looking woman who Seishi could only assume was his mother. Sasuke came out a little bit later and started walking in the direction of Seishi.

"How was detention?" Seishi asked trying to make light conversation as they began walking. Sasuke just grunted in response which immediately had the effect of annoying Seishi. Undeterred however, he began to speak again.

"I'm a little surprised you got in a fight with Kiba. Though after what he said, if you didn't do something I would've." Seishi said. Again, Sasuke just grunted in response. Seishi was about to make a point of it when Sasuke took a left turn towards the forest behind the academy instead of a right towards the market district where there temporary home was. Surprised, Seishi spoke up questioning the sudden change in route. "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to where Itachi used to train when he was in the academy." That answer surprised Seishi, seeing as how Sasuke had been very anti-Itachi lately.

"Why?" Seishi asked simply.

"I'm going to train there. I want you to come." Sasuke said to his clansmen. Seishi was still a little surprised but he decided to go with it. He wasn't going to leave Sasuke until he was sure he was okay. Hearing his friend be silent, Sasuke assumed he needed to explain a little more. "We still have the basics of the Uchiha fighting style that our brothers and our clan taught us. We should get better as fast as we can so we can become stronger than everyone else in our class." Sasuke said. Seishi was a little surprised. That was the longest Sasuke had spoken straight since he had been released, or at least it felt like it. Seishi didn't see the rush in being better than everyone right now, but he was an Uchiha. The Uchiha were the best after all, and training was something he and Sasuke could do together to work on moving on.

Seishi smiled before giving Sasuke a nod. "Ya, let's do it. Let's get stronger." Sasuke gave Seishi a small smile before nodding back and walking forward with a renewed vigor. Seishi smiled some more. He knew the training was going to be fun, it always was with Sasuke. He wasn't sure if Sasuke was going to have fun with it, but that was okay. Seishi too had desire to become stronger, but his was more related to making his brother proud. Shisui had been arguably the strongest in the Uchiha clan before everything happened, and in Seishi's eyes it was no contest. He had a lot to live up to in regards to Shisui, but he would do his best. With those thoughts in his head Seishi followed after Sasuke again, but this time with more determination than before.

Today was a hard day for Seishi. A harder day than any other in the year. Today marked the one-year anniversary of when Seishi's mother and brother were buried. Three days before the anniversary of the fall of the Uchiha Clan. Seishi always thought it a little rude to call it the "fall" of his clan. He and Sasuke were still there and were going to be awesome some day, and even Itachi-nii was still out there. Somewhere. The days leading up to this had been rough. Sasuke had tried to help him a little bit, but even he was starting to get a little more aggressive with the anniversary the worst day of his life coming up. Seishi's was today, and though he'd been getting better and getting along better that didn't stop the sobs that racked his body.

His friend Ino's dad Inoichi had helped him get through the times early, and had told Seishi that he could come over for dinner whenever he would like. It meant a lot to Seishi that he got the invitation, but Sasuke never had wanted to go so far. Over the last year Sasuke himself had gotten quieter and more withdrawn than ever before. It got on Seishi's nerves. Instead of playing with him and his friends, all Sasuke wanted to do was sulk and train. It got so bad that Seishi hardly sat by Sasuke anymore, choosing to sit next to Ino or Shikamaru. Ino because she was Seishi's best friend other than Sasuke, and Shikamaru because he got all the answers on the tests right. Even that weird kid Naruto was more fun to be around than Sasuke even though a lot of adults told him not to hang around him. Even Akane became very stern at the mention of Naruto which was really odd to Seishi because she was so nice to him and Sasuke.

The morning Seishi woke up to was bright and sunny just like every other one this week. It made Seishi feel like the world had forgotten about his family. To him he felt it should've been raining harder than ever. It was unfair to Seishi that his family was forgotten about, lumped together with the rest of his clan on a day they weren't even alive to bear witness to. The only solace that Seishi had that they didn't forget was that Shisui's name was not only on the Uchiha Shrine, but also on the Memorial Stone. Seishi didn't know why exactly it was there, but Shisui was his hero and if any name deserved to be honored, it was definitely his.

Seishi didn't feel like getting up. He had already sent Akane away, and he wasn't sure Sasuke was going to come in. He may have already left or was brooding in his room. He reached over and grabbed the photo on his nightstand. It was the same picture he held onto the night the massacre happened. Himself when he was little, a younger Shisui, and his mother and father, smiling like everything was right in the world. At that time, maybe it was. Tears poured out of Seishi's eyes as he cuddled that picture again. He had other photos of his family, but this was the only one he had of them all together. He stayed lying in bed with that picture curled up around it. After a little bit however, Seishi got tired of lying in bed. Shisui and his dad were not one to lay about, and he was going to honor his family properly. He slowly got up and got dressed. He got dressed in a pair of black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt that was open just under the collar. It was a pair of clothes that almost everyone seemed to have in some form or fashion for a funeral. He walked to the door, slipping on his now getting-worn black shinobi sandals and left without saying anything. He had made his mind and was going to two different locations. First he was going to the memorial stone and was going to honor his brother as the hero that he was, then he was going to go to the Uchiha clan compound for the first time in almost a year to honor his mother and Shisui as his family. First he needed to grab a couple things.

The walk through town was one filled with uncomfortableness for Seishi. He got many wary looks as he walked through town in his mourning clothes. People understood what he was wearing, but were probably confused since the big day was three days from now. He was not stupid and didn't get his days mixed up. How could he with something like that. He went first to a florist to pick up a bouquet, incense, and some matches. The florist had a small section of incense candles since many people bought flowers to put on the graves of lost loved ones. He paid for it all by pulling his little money pouch and giving it to the man. Seishi had access to the Uchiha funds so it wasn't hard for him to get money when he wanted it.

He made his to the Uchiha clan compound first. It took him awhile since his pace was slow, but he finally got there. When he arrived to the gates a lump formed in his throat and his emotions rooted him to the spot. He was scared to open them and see what lay beyond. Images of bodies and blood flooded his vision and made him feel sick. These same images haunted his nightmares, but he was not going to be stopped now. He swallowed hard and pushed on the gates. The sight that greeted him was not one of death and destruction, but one of nostalgia and emotional pain. It looked just as it did before everything, except now it was empty and that hurt more than Seishi thought it was going to. His home wasn't far from here, and he would stop by there on his way out, but he had a different destination first. He made his way to the small rectangular building next to the home of the clan heads. It was in here that a shrine for the Uchiha dead was made. On the back wall across from the door was a mural of the Sage of Six Paths, Madara Uchiha, and his brother Izuna beside him. Under that inscribed into the wall was the names of the fallen Uchiha. Seishi turned to his right and walked towards the end of the names. On the fourth column from the end was the names of his family. He kneeled down before their names and began the small ritual. He laid down the flowers in front of him, put a couple of incense sticks in the small cups scattered along the ground near the walls and began to cry. He mourned. He grieved. He beat the ground with his fists in rage. It had been so long since he cried for them. It still hurt so much that they were gone, and he wasn't sure he'd ever truly get over it. He'd been doing better, but a year wasn't nearly enough. After the incense was finally burned out Seishi stood up and got ready to leave.

Seishi's head hurt from the constant strain but he walked on. He made his way over to his home. Seeing the entire clan compound and not seeing a soul was still jarring for Seishi. Around this time the entire clan would be busy. It was like it's own little world in its walls, but now everything was silent. When he finally got to his home he stood before the doors preparing himself to go in. He expected the house to be a complete trainwreck with spiders and cobwebs everywhere, but when he opened the door he was surprised to see everything the same as he remembered it. Just like the rest of the grounds. He didn't know who to thank for taking care of his home like this, but he'd find out and give them a big hug. Still, seeing everything like this again hurt. He followed the same path he did last time. First he went to his parent's room and looked around. It was a little dusty, but overall it was just as he remembered.

He then went to Shisui's room and looked around. Again, it was just the same. However Seishi saw something that he immediately wanted to grab. Laying against the wall on the far side of the room was Shisui's tanto that he used just before everything happened. Seishi immediately ran for it and grabbed it. He put his hand on the handle. It was wrapped in a white cloth that Shisui would change often to keep it pristine. He put his other hand on the leather sheath. The same sheath that Shisui used when he wielded this blade. He finally pulled the single-edged blade a little out of its sheath. It was a beautiful almost white color. It had a black line down the middle that was actually chakra metal surrounded by steel. Shisui had explained him how it worked once, and even showed him a jutsu he himself had created. By pushing fire chakra through the metal, he could extend his will through the blade, and by swinging his sword could create fire slashed that traveled a distance before expanding outwards and consuming everything before it. He had told Seishi everything about it, and was even going to teach him when Seishi had become a Genin. That seemed so far off now, but he had a basic idea and he vowed to himself that he was going to recreate that jutsu someday.

Finally having enough, Seishi put the strap of the blade's sheath around his shoulder and walked out. He was definitely not going to leave that there. It was his family heirloom now, and he was going to use it to make Shisui proud. Finally exiting the home, and then the compound Seishi felt a weight come off his shoulders. He was still sad, but to him, being at the Uchiha clan compound again showed progress. He was able to properly mourn his family and he got something that was immediately precious to him that he wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Seishi again began walking, but this time to training ground three. He still wanted to honor Seishi as a hero, his hero, and he wanted to maybe, just a little, try swinging the sword around a little bit. Seishi had not long ago begun working on the fireball jutsu, and while he couldn't get it to form yet, he had asked Iruka-Sensei for advice on molding fire chakra and was starting to make progress. Maybe he could practice his fire manipulation by making the blade warm. If it worked that way. After a long walk, Seishi was starting to feel a little better. Mourning his family properly had been hard, but with Shisui's sword on his shoulder, he felt closer to them again. That alone meant the world to Seishi.

Finally arriving at the training ground Seishi was a little surprised to see someone else there. It was a public memorial stone so he shouldn't have, but the man in front him looked a tad weird. He was rather tall with spiky silver hair and wearing a standard Jonin uniform. He also had a mask that covered most of his face except for his right eye. To Seishi t didn't seem the man noticed him as he walked up to stand beside him. He had his lone gaze glued to the names on the stones. Seishi walked up and stood beside him. It was only then that he seemed to take notice of the small newcomer beside him. Seishi wasn't expecting the man to talk, but when he did it surprised him.

"Ahh. Little Seishi." The man said. Seishi looked up to him in confusion. As far as Seishi knew he had never seen this man before, so why did he know his name?

"Do I know you?" He asked. Seishi scrunched his face trying to discern any details. _'If I knew anyone with hair like that, I'd recognize them for sure.'_ The man seemed content to let Seishi scrutinize his visage before chuckling.

"Probably not. My name is Kakashi Hatake. It's nice to meet you." He said to the young boy. The newly-named Kakashi reached his hand out for a shake. Seishi reached out the one hand that wasn't holding the sword and shook it back.

"My name is Seishi Uchiha, though you seem to know that already." Kakashi gave him what he thought was a smile. He had crinkled his eye closed and you could see the shape of his lips through his mask to see it. Kakashi himself took notice of the boy's appearance. Particularly of the sword on his shoulder. He knew exactly whose sword that was, and where he had gotten it from. Instead of mentioning that he decided to strike a different conversation.

"Here to honor your brother?" Kakashi asked him. The boy below him nodded before looking at the name. It wasn't near the end. It had been a year and many good Shinobi had died in that spanse of time. Seishi found it with relative ease however, finding the characters easily among the rest. Kakashi returned his eyes to the names he had been staring at before. Minato Namikaze, his old sensei, Rin Nohara, his female teammate, and Obito Uchiha, his other teammate and best friend. All were taken too soon and had left their dreams and ambitions with Kakashi. It was his fault his teammates had died, and the Nine-Tailed foxes that caused the fall his sensei.

The two sat in relative silence for awhile, but it was Seishi that made the first move. He moved away from the stone and into the clearing of the training ground. Kakashi watched him the whole time. Seishi set the sheath on the ground and slowly withdrew the sword. He put his hands on the pommel like his brother had taught him so long ago, and took a few practice swings. After a bit of repetition he decided to try something new. He decided to try and warm up his chakra to see if he could heat the blade. It would be the first step in recreating his brother's jutsu. Seishi knew it wouldn't happen since he couldn't even make a fireball yet, but he had to start somewhere.

Kakashi watched him with mild fascination. He could tell Seishi knew very little in the way of swordplay, but he was now trying something else. Kakashi watched him for awhile before looking back at the stone. Staring at Obito's name and then back at Seishi, Kakashi came to a decision. His time at Anbu was coming to an end, he could feel it. The Hokage would likely force him to take on a team of brats, but maybe he could wait until one or both of the Uchiha's graduated the Academy to take them on as students. It would help him start to pay back the sacrifice of his best friend. For now though, he could begin by helping the Uchiha right in front of him.

"What is it you're trying to do?" Kakashi spoke to the young boy after approaching him. Seishi who had just lost all of his focus groaned at having to start over again.

"I'm trying to make fire chakra to heat up the blade. I want to make my brothers Jutsu again." Seishi responded to the man. Kakashi 'hmm'd in response before speaking again.

"Shisui's Halo Dance right?" Seishi looked up at him in shock.

"How did you know?" He asked dumbfounded. Kakashi chuckled before answering.

"I worked with your older brother before, plus I make it a habit of mine to know any interesting characters around the village." Seishi looked at him in awe. Seishi quickly yelled out,

"Could you help me then!?" He asked the man in front him. Kakashi smiled before shaking his head.

"I could give you a couple tips, but the technique is his." Seishi deflated at hearing that, but Kakashi wasn't done. "I did hear him say the technique was a little draining when used repeatedly, so maybe I can help you with your chakra instead." Seishi's grin nearly split his face. He jumped up and down on his feet,

"Please please please please please please help me." He pleaded the man. Kakashi could only chuckle at the complete turn around in emotions the kid went through. He smiled before nodding causing Seishi to jump up and down in glee.

"So first things first. Let's learn something that will help you not only as a ninja, but also help build up your reserves without damaging them or causing overexertion easily. Did you ever learn the tree-walking technique?" He asked the boy. Seishi shook his head no and continued staring at Kakashi for an explanation. "Well the tree walking exercise allows you to walk up the side of a tree using only chakra. Follow closely and observe." Kakashi then began walking towards the treeline, and when he reached the first tree started walking up the side of it. Seishi could only look in awe. That was one of the coolest things he'd seen. Why had Shisui or Itachi never shown that to him before?

Kakashi walked up a few feet before turning around and walking back down to the earth. "What do you think?" He asked the boy. Seishi blew up in excitement.

"That was awesome!" He exclaimed. "How'd you do it? Tell me please please please." Kakashi laughed again, enjoying seeing the excitable young child and for having brung the somber child out of his mood and into one of joy. It felt good. Maybe having a team wouldn't be so bad.

"So come over here, ;lay down and put your feet on the trunk of the tree." Kakashi told the boy. Seishi did just that. He walked up the tree next to Kakashi, laid the sword on the ground gently and laid down next to it. Putting his feet up to the tree, he then looked up to Kakashi ready for the next instructions. "So channel your chakra to the bottom of your feet and try moving your feet until you get the right amount and they stick." Seishi looked up at Kakashi in confusion, but tried anyway. It took a little concentration to get his chakra down to his feet, but once he did he played with the amount. At first nothing seemed to happen, so being annoyed Seishi pushed a lot of his chakra to his feet which got him shoved back a few inches. Kakashi had chuckled a little before telling him to be more careful and try again.

After a little bit of trial and error he finally got his feet to stick properly. Kakashi seemingly pleased with his progress then told him to walk up. Seishi did as he was asked. He took a step forward, and then another up the base of the trunk. Feeling the rest of his body rise off the ground like he was walking normally excited Seishi and then he fell with a solid 'Oomph.'

"That was good." Kakashi praised, "But you have to keep pushing chakra to keep stuck to the tree or you'll fall down." Seishi nodded at his words before trying again. It took a lot of effort and not long after Seishi got really tired. Kakashi nodded at his complaints. "You've been at this longer than I thought you would with your Chakra coils not being fully developed yet. You did great." Seishi beamed at the praise. He could tell this man was a Jonin based on his attire, and praise from an elite ninja meant a lot. Especially to him. "Go home and get some rest. If you have time practice that until the chakra flow becomes natural to you." Seishi nodded before sluggishly getting to his feet.

Seishi grabbed the small sword beside him and shouldering it before speaking. "Thank you." He said to the man before him. "I'm happy you helped me and made this day more fun." Kakashi smiled at him.

"You're welcome as well Seishi. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go." Kakashi gave him a lazy wave before disappearing in a shroud of leaves. Seishi was again in awe at seeing that technique. He had seen it plenty of times before, especially because Shisui liked to show off when they played tag by just disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the field like the cheater that he was. He really needed to learn that too. Seishi began the long walk home. The sun still shone in the sky, but was on the receding end. Seishi was rather tired as well so a nap was definitely in order.

After a walk that was normally short but felt incredibly long on his tired and sore legs, Seishi arrived home. He opened the door slowly and shut it behind him. He took off his shoes at the door and began walking towards his room. He gave a small wave to Akane as he walked by her on the way. He poked his head to inside Sasuke's room as well before entering his. Seeing that he wasn't in, Seishi sighed. He was probably out training again, although Seishi couldn't judge since he got some special training by a super cool Jonin. He'd brag to Sasuke later and teach him what was taught to him. He proceeded to go to his room. He set down the sword on top of his dresser, clearing off space for one of his now most-precious items. He then undressed his now dirty and grass stained mourning clothes and put them with his other dirty clothes. Akane had dealt with plenty of grass stains on his clothes before, so he was sure she wouldn't mind too much. He then stretched out his legs, feeling the muscles groan in protest. He rather liked the feeling. It made him feel as if he did good, and Kakashi-san had said he did good. He then laid down and closed his eyes.

The next few days dealing with Sasuke would be rough, but Seishi decided he'd try to take him to the Uchiha compound as well. Maybe it will help Sasuke like it helped him. Emotionally he still hurt, but after seeing the clan grounds again, getting Shisui's sword, and having a fun time with Kakashi, Seishi was in a much better mood. He just hoped Sasuke would be as well.


	4. Chapter 4- Last Day's

**We'll be jumping to the last year of the Academy. I'm going to try and do more character and relationship building as it leads up to the graduation exam. I'm not doing the most explanations of what characters are wearing, I'm basing the fact that most people have an idea. If you wish me to go into more detail, please tell me. I hope this chapter is to your liking. Sorry for the later upload, finals and Smash Ultimate has taken a lot of my time. If you have any issues with character portrayal let me know. I am doing my best, but I'm sure I could do better. Anyway please review so I can improve. I hope you enjoy this latest installment.**

"... and that finishes up our final lecture on the logistics of missions in a Ninja village economy. Any questions?" Iruka asked his academy class. Not a single person raised their hand, while Iruka was a renowned teacher around the academy, even he couldn't avoid finding students asleep during his teachings. Especially with a certain Nara in his class, but what surprised him even more was that one of the last two Uchiha was asleep as well. Iruka coughed into his hand, everyone in the class knew exactly what was coming, "SEISHI UCHIHA!"

Shooting his head up and snorting awake Seishi tiredly mumbled out "Seven." The class started laughing as Iruka berated him on falling asleep during important lessons about the village's way of life. As he was about to resume teaching Kiba Inuzuka raised his hand and got Iruka's attention,

"Sensei what about Shikamaru?" He asked, bringing Iruka's attention back to the lazy clan heir. Iruka looked ready to yell again, but Naruto Uzumaki shot up drawing the attention of the class, pulling out two small popping fireworks that made a loud bang when connecting with a hard surface.

"May I, Sensei?" He asked, smirking Iruka just simply nodded. Naruto scurried to Shikamaru's location and stood on the long desk that held three students right in front of him. Naruto slowly raised his hand, savoring the moment. As soon as he was ready to move his eyes widened in confusion.

"Troublesome blond" He heard from the previously sleeping Nara. Shikamaru raised his head, his hands in the ram seal below him, his shadow connected to Naruto's. Everyone in the class started laughing at Naruto getting caught in the middle of his prank, then their laughter switched to Kiba as Shikamaru threw his arms towards Kiba, his jutsu making Naruto do the same, causing the small fireworks to pop right in front of the Inuzuka making him and his nindog Akamaru cover their ears in pain. Shikamaru smirked and then released his jutsu. Iruka calmed the class back down and went back to teaching as Naruto returned to his seat. Seishi reduced his laughter from that exchange to mere giggles. Calming himself down, he leaned over to his Uchiha counterpart and whispered to him,

"Wanna spar after class?" He asked. Sasuke only looked at him out of the corner of his eye and grunted, after years of being around Sasuke, Seishi knew he accepted, but he wanted to rile his friend up even more. "C'mon Sasuke, I know you want revenge after last time, and I believe I'm up by two wins. I know that eats you up inside" Sasuke grimaced, not one to ever be outdone.

"You're on." Sasuke replied to his cousin. Seishi smirked, glad to get Sasuke to speak, He'd been doing that less and less, becoming more broody and quiet over time. Seishi made it his personal goal to get him to stop that.

"Alright class, you're dismissed. Make sure you continue to practice your jutsu and taijutsu katas. The final exam is two days away. Dismissed!" Iruka finished. Everyone then filed out, eager to go home. Once Seishi got outside he waited for Sasuke to come out as well. Sasuke was one of the last to get out, and once he did Seishi asked him,

"I'm pretty hungry, wanna go get lunch?" Sasuke just replied with a shake of his head and started making his way to their clan compound. Seishi was a little put off, but was feeling sociable. He looked around for another person to invite. He thought about Ino but she was with her female friends and he didn't feel like approaching that piranha's nest. She was fine one-on-one but with her friends it was a whole different experience. He then looked to around for Shino but couldn't see him anywhere. He had been wanting to get to know the Aburame for a bit, but never got around to it. He then turned his eyes to the pair of Shikamaru and Chouji, he knew Shika was going to watch clouds, and Seishi didn't think his wallet could handle Chouji no matter how friendly the Akimichi was. His eyes then found Naruto, who was sitting on the swing on the wooden swing, gently rocking back and forth with a sullen look on his face. Seeing the usually happy Naruto look so sad just felt off to Seishi, so he decided he was going to help that. Finally choosing his eating partner he made his way over to the Uzumaki.

Seeing someone come his way, Naruto instantly looked up to face his newcomer and put on his fake smile, stretching his eyes nearly closed. As Seishi walked towards Naruto, he was slightly thrown off guard. He hadn't done anything to make the blond smile that widely at him. When Seishi looked over originally Naruto seemed depressed, and now he looked overly happy. Thinking it was just another Naruto thing he was undeterred. Seishi asked the blond,

"Hey Naruto, wanna go grab lunch with me?" Naruto's smile faltered a bit at the Uchiha confused, wondering why anyone would ask him that besides Iruka-sensei and the Hokage. He only had rivalries with Seishi and Sasuke, so he was little skeptical of the offer.

"No, thank you." He replied to the offer. Seishi looked confused for a second, but pressed on, never one to be deterred,

"C'mon blondie. My treat, plus you can pick. I just feel like grabbing lunch with pleasant company. It would be nice before I go kick Sasuke's butt." He laughed at the end, trying to ease the tense Uzumaki. Reacting to his laughter Naruto laughed as well since he also wanted to rip Sasuke a new one for being so rude to him early in their academy days. Nodding to himself Naruto replied,

"Sure, thank you. Since you said I pick, have you been to Ichiraku's ramen stand?"

"Nope." Seishi replied, "But I'm down to try new things." The blond jumped off the swing at that and started speed-walking to the exit of the Academy grounds. Seishi was overall confused about the mood swings, but he had an eating partner for today. "Hey, wait up!" Seishi called out as he jogged to catch up. Naruto turned around to see the distance he had already created between the two. He stopped walking and waited for Seishi to catch up. Rubbing the back of his neck Naruto felt slightly bad. He couldn't just leave his meal ticket behind after all. His mouth watered at the idea of free ramen.

The two began walking at a more sedated pace as Naruto led him to the small restaurant. Seishi thought this would be a good time to get to know Naruto. The only thing he really knew about him was from their spars and the pranks Naruto pulled. Plus his scores marking him as the dead-last of their class.

"So. Naruto." Seishi began. Naruto turned to him with a "hmm?" "Tell me about yourself. I don't know anything about you." Naruto looked at him for a few moments. His eyes closed in thought. He finally returned his head forward and began talking excitedly.

"Well I like ramen, and I want to be Hokage." Seishi gave him a deadpan look.

"Seriously? I know at least that much. That's all you ever talk about." Seishi said to the blond. Naruto's gaze turned back to him.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Naruto asked Seishi. Seishi thought about it. After a few seconds he came up with a question.

"Why do you goof off instead of doing well in class?" Seishi asked him. Naruto was silent for a little bit. He head his head down as if in deep thought. Finally he looked back at Seishi with that same wide smile from earlier,

"Because a Hokage doesn't need to know that stuff!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Seishi just sighed.

"Those are exactly the things a Hokage NEEDS to know you idiot." Seishi scolded the blond. Naruto just glowered a little bit.

"I'll learn it eventually." He finally said. Seishi sighed again and decided to give up. Troublesome blond was the perfect words to describe Naruto. They settled into a silence as they kept walking towards their destination. After a few more minutes of walking they finally arrived. It was a small stand made out of wood. The entrance was open except for several cloth flaps that had Ichiraku Ramen printed on it. Seishi followed Naruto who immediately pushed through the cloth and took a seat on the middle of five stools.

"One miso ramen with pork please old man." Naruto called out to the friendly looking elderly gentleman behind the counter.

"Naruto." He said happily. "How's our favorite customer today?"

"I'm doing good. How are you and Ayame-nee-san?" He asked. From under the counter popped a late teenage women with brown hair wearing a white shirt with an apron over it. She gave Naruto a bright smile and replied to him,

"We're doing good. Better now that you're here." Naruto just chuckled and rubbed his head bashfully. Her eyes then turned to Seishi who had just sat down on a stool next to Naruto. "Who's your friend Naruto?" She asked.

"My name is Seishi Uchiha. It's a pleasure to meet you." Seishi sad with a slight bow of his head. Ayame smiled at him and introduced herself in return.

"Well my name is Ayame and the grumpy old man behind me is my dad Teuchi." She gestured to the kind looking old man behind her who was wearing the same uniform as her. He looked a little miffed at being called 'grumpy old man', but he smiled as his eyes returned to Seishi.

"It's an honor to have you dining with us Uchiha-san. What would you like?" He asked Seishi. Seishi got a little uncomfortable with the honorific. After 5 years he was still unused to being treated almost like royalty.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'll have the same as Naruto please." Seishi got out after a second. Teuchi laughed at them before calling out,

"Coming right up!" Ayame leaned on the counter as she turned to them.

"So you're graduating soon right?" She asked them. Naruto was the first to respond.

"Yep. Two days from now you'll see me as a ninja of Konoha." He said excitedly. Ayame smiled gently before turning to Seishi.

"And you?" She asked. Seishi grinned.

"I will be as well. I don't know about Naruto here, but I'm going to be a ninja for sure." Seishi smiled at Naruto, obviously teasing him.

"I'm going to graduate easy!" Naruto yelled getting over excited. "In fact, I bet I'll be a better ninja than you!" He said with an exuberant amount of confidence. Seishi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh really." Seishi said tauntingly.

"Ya really. Believe it!" Naruto finalized the challenge. Both boys glared at each other. Ayame sweatdropped as she looked at the both of them stare each other down. For a second there she could have sworn she saw sparks fly between the two. The glares switched to a new target as Teuchi swooped in with two delicious looking bowls of ramen.

"Alright you two settle down." Teuchi interjected as he set the bowls down. "I hope you both enjoy." He said smiling at the two. Both boys immediately grabbed their chopsticks, and after thanking the chef, immediately dug in with gusto. Naruto was the first to finish his bowl and immediately called for a second one. As soon as the words left his mouth a second bowl was promptly dropped in front of him, which he began to tear into with just as much fervor. Seishi finished his first bowl soon after, but politely declined the offer of a second one. He still had to spar with Sasuke later and didn't want to overeat on salty foods. Instead he decided to sit there and wait for Naruto.

Thirty-five minutes later Seishi regretted not asking Chouji to lunch. There's no way someone should be able to eat so much. Seishi stared wide-eyed at his first and onlybowl of ramen, and then to Naruto's fifteenth. Feeling his wallet shrinking Seishi thanked anyone above that the Uchiha clan fund was so large, or he might have been in serious trouble. Burping after drinking the broth, Naruto thanked the chef. Seishi turned to the duo behind the counter and just saw them rubbing their hands together thinking of the payment for this lunch. Naruto then turned to his lunch partner and smiled,

"Thank you for lunch Seishi-san. I really appreciate this." Seishi smiled, and waved the blond off. He had gotten over his small anger with Naruto after watching the impressive display that the blond put on.

"It's no trouble Naruto. We should do this again sometime." Naruto smiled and nodded, then Seishi added, "Although maybe next time you don't go so hard on the ramen?" Naruto gave a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

After paying for the meal and and thanking the Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, Seishi said his farewells to the rambunctious blonde that was his lunch partner and started to make his way to the Uchiha district. He had a downer to rough into shape. It didn't take long for Seishi to reach the Uchiha district. It had been just over a year ago when he and Sasuke decided to move back into their original home. Seishi had offered Sasuke to stay with him at his place, but Sasuke wanted to get over his trauma and return to his real home. After a little bit they both decided Seishi should live with Sasuke in the main home. It wasn't like Sasuke needed the space. The transition was a little rough for Seishi, but he had moved into a new home before so it wasn't as big of a deal. It was just rough packing certain things of Shisui's and his parents that he wanted to take with him. Things that he didn't originally take with him to his old apartment.

After awhile he finally made it back to the head household. Seishi immediately went to Sasuke's room and knocked. After a few seconds Seishi knocked on the door again, waiting for an answer. When there was none he got annoyed at being snubbed. He knew Sasuke was around here somewhere. He knocked louder this time, following that up with a shout,

"Oi you emo bastard, we have a date with destiny!" Seishi yelled. After his loud remark he heard distant reply of "Over here" from the back of the house. Making his way to and out the back door, he saw Sasuke practicing his aim with shuriken and kunai. All hitting the target dead center.

Seishi whistled as he walked into the training area in the backyard, "That's impressive. I'm afraid for any shinobi that fights against you standing still." Seishi walked onto the opposite side of the field into the usual area they began their spars.

"Shut it." Was the reply he got, Seishi smirked and lowered himself into the academy style taijutsu that he and Sasuke had both modified differently. One arm outstretched and the other close to his body. Seishi smirked and beckoned Sasuke by giving him a 'come on' gesture with his outstretched hand.

Sasuke shot him a challenging look and lowered himself into a similar stance. On an unknown signal they both charged at each other. Reaching in the middle Sasuke threw the first punch, a straight right at Seishi's forehead. Ducking down to dodge it, Seishi threw a sweeping kick, aiming to take Sasuke's legs out from under him. Sasuke jumped over it, aiming his own kick at Seishi's lowered head. Rolling back, Seishi put his arms under him and springboarded up, landing on his feet. Not giving his opponent any room to breathe Sasuke pressed his advantage charging at his fellow Uchiha again. Sasuke threw several punches, forcing Seishi on the back foot and not giving him any chance to go on the offensive.

During the onslaught Seishi smirked, seeing an over extension on Sasuke's part, Seishi ducked low, aiming a punch on Sasuke's exposed ribs, his smirk fell however when he realized it was a bait, too late though, as Sasuke's elbow connected with the dome of his head, stunned Seishi could not react to the spinning heel kick Sasuke delivered swiftly to his temple, sending him flying and spinning landing several yards away.

Sasuke smirked victoriously as Seishi groaned, shaking his head to clear the stars he spoke "I guess I'm only one win up now." Sasuke continued smirking, feeling like gloating but choosing not to since he was in fact still down to his clansmen. "I can't believe I fell for that, I'm disappointed in myself." Seishi said standing up.

"Don't be." Sasuke said, "I've been saving that feint, hoping to catch you with it." Sasuke said grabbing towel to wipe off his sweat, and throwing another one to the now standing Seishi.

"Thank you. I wonder if this is how Shisui and Itachi felt growing up." Seishi pondered. The mention of Itachi's name made Sasuke freeze. His look instantly turned sour. Seishi saw Sasuke tense up and just sighed. _'Some things never change.'_ Seishi thought sadly. "Well are you ready for the exam soon?" Seishi asked. Sasuke only nodded. Seishi sat down as he watched Sasuke clean up. "I need to train more. I still don't feel like I've done enough." Seishi mused.

"I agree." Sasuke said. "I still feel too weak. I don't like it." Seishi nodded at that.

"Well then I'm going to go train. I still need to work on my jutsu." Seishi said. "Come on. Let's go again. I need to get my win back. Unless you're too tired and scared?" Seishi challenged with a grin. Sasuke smirked back.

"You're so going down loser." With that said Seishi immediately jumped up and Sasuke stopped cleaning. They got into position once again and charged.

* * *

Seishi gasped as he felt the drain from the prolonged use of the fireball jutsu. The lake water below him stopped simmering and slowly returned to a rest. He had been hard at work using that jutsu to build up his reserves and getting use to repeated exposure to fire chakra in his lungs. His breathing lightened as he sat down on the side of the lake bed. He felt proud of what he had accomplished. The fireball jutsu was one of three fire jutsus he had in his repertoire, but he was looking to improve it further. It felt good seeing all that he had progressed. He had finally finished the fireball jutsu and gotten the Uchiha Fan on the back of his clothes roughly two years ago. Two weeks after Sasuke much to his chagrin. Then his thoughts turned to the aforementioned Uchiha.

That was one of the few times Sasuke had shown much emotion lately was when he bragged about it. Sasuke had gotten even more quiet. He tended to brood and not speak more than what was necessary, Seishi however was much more loudspoken and brash, but not to the extreme that Naruto and Kiba did. His relationship with Sasuke tended to seem like what Shisui's relationship with Itachi had been and Seishi saw that as a good sign. Those two were the best of friends and Seishi hoped to be like that with Sasuke, though Sasuke never made it easy. They had moments where they were brothers and the best of friends. Other times things were tense, especially when dealing with matters regarding Itachi and what outcome they both wanted from it. Mostly however, it was a pretty fierce rivalry between the two. They were both considered prodigies in their own right, but Sasuke tended to garner more attention than Seishi did. Seishi always tried to talk with Sasuke, but Sasuke wasn't much of a talker anymore.

Sasuke never talked to anyone outside of the academy besides Seishi. He barely responded to teachers inside the academy as well, and for some reason that made him more popular. Girls seemed to fall all over him, and as much as it bothered him, Ino seemed to have a crush on him as well. It even ruined her friendship with Sakura, so that little trio he had blew up. Luckily Ino was nowhere near as obnoxious about her crush as Sakura was. She was the head of a so-called 'Sasuke Fan Club'. Seishi hated that it existed. He was also a little jealous, though he would never admit that. Sasuke also took class very seriously. It may have seemed as if he wasn't paying that much attention, but he always was. He scored near perfect marks and was always just above Seishi. More importantly Sasuke only ever lost to one person in the taijutsu spars, and Seishi was very happy to admit that it was him. He currently held the spar record between them by one win, something he knew irked Sasuke since he just had to be the best at everything. Especially since they went back and forth the day before.

Seishi looked to the horizon as the sun peeked over the edge. He had woken up extra early today to get some training in before the academy and had ended up wearing himself out. After he felt good and rested he stood up, stretched, and started making his way to the Academy. He swung by the market district to grab an apple for breakfast. He wasn't worried about eating too much since his lunch was covered. He and Sasuke had been training fanatics so they had a deal that when one was missing in the morning due to training, the other made lunch for the both of them. It was a good deal, but it led to him tending to make it more for Sasuke. Though that was probably why it worked so well, since that was mostly how Sasuke agreed to it since he was out most mornings regardless.

The walk to the Academy was uneventful as usual. A few people waved to Seishi and he politely waved back. People were still very kind to him, and while Seishi appreciated it, he felt undeserving. Entering the academy grounds Seishi caught sight of Ino. His friendship with her was still rather solid, and since she didn't bring up Sasuke all the time, they still had plenty to talk about. Seishi jogged up beside her as they neared the Academy doors to have a pleasant morning conversation with one of his best friends.

"Good morning Ino." Seishi spoke getting the girls attention. Ino turned to him and glanced him over. Her eyebrow quirked at seeing the dirt covering some of his clothes.

"Good morning to you too Seishi. Training again?" She asked. Seishi laughed a little and nodded. He held the door for her as they both walked in heading to their classroom.

"Our final year is almost up." Seishi said.

"Yup." Ino replied with a nod of her head. "Kind of exciting honestly." She continued.

"It definitely is. I wonder who , if anyone, is going to fail." Seishi asked. Ino put her finger to her chin as she pondered..

"Hmm. If anyone, it might be Naruto." She finally said as they neared the classroom. Seishi only nodded.

Seishi's thoughts then turned to the other blond in class. He liked Naruto, at the very least because he was funny. Still, he tended to always be in some sort of trouble and from what he'd seen of his test grades, they were all very poor. Plus he still couldn't even perform a normal clone. Though his redeeming quality was definitely in taijutsu. Naruto was the only one outside of Sasuke to really give him trouble. Kiba was easy to read since he just ran at you. Shikamaru barely even tried, usually giving up as soon as the match began. Choji was weird, he was slow but his moves definitely packed a punch, but since he was slow he was easy to beat for him and Sasuke. Hinata was another odd one. He just felt like he was getting pushed when she struck, and when he asked her about it she said she wasn't allowed to use her family's taijutsu in class. Naruto was different from the rest. He was a brawler like Kiba, but he hit as hard as Choji. He was also faster than both of them and just did the weirdest things. One time during their spar Seishi had knocked Naruto with a palm to the head and while he fell he grabbed Seishi's extended hand and just heaved him over as they fell. It almost cost Seishi the match because he nearly fell out of the ring. Ever since then he never underestimated Naruto in their spars or left his arm extended for that matter.

"Definitely Naruto, though I think he has what it takes to graduate if he focuses." Ino nodded to that as they entered the open doors of their classroom. They sat together on the front row and chatted amicably while they waited for Iruka-sensei. They were one of the first couple to arrive and soon after everyone started filing in. Sasuke had came in almost last and dropped Seishi his lunch as he took a seat a few rows back next to Shikamaru. Soon the bell rang signaling class to start but Iruka-sensei had still yet to arrive. The whole class started wondering where their wayward teacher was, but soon his assistant Mizuki-sensei arrived and began to teach in his stead.

Not soon after Iruka arrived dragging a binded Naruto behind him and dropped him on the floor in front of the entire class. Seishi only sighed as he saw this. _'So much for focusing on graduating.'_ Seishi thought. After dropping Naruto in front of everyone, Iruka began to lecture him.

"Now listen Naruto," Iruka began "You failed the last graduation test and the one before that. This is no time to be goofing off, you fool." Iruka scolded the boy. Naruto however just turned his head in indignance. Iruka twitched at just being shoved off like that. He turned to the rest of the class and yelled, "We will have a retest on the Transformation Jutsu! Even those who've already passed will take it!" He finished.

"What?!" Most of the class yelled. Seishi only groaned. ' _More wasted time for that dunce.'_ Seishi thought bitterly. They all started to get out of their seat and form an orderly line.

The line began with Sakura Haruno. "Sakura Haruno. Here I go. **Transform**!" She said. With a burst of chakra a cloud of smoke appeared, and from that smoke stood a perfect copy of Iruka. Iruka checked his clipboard and gave her a simple "Ok." Sakura then cheered to herself, "I did it. Did you see that Sasuke?" She asked the boy.

Before any response could be given, or rather not given, Iruka went ahead and called out, "Next, Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura sulked back to her seat after being shut down like that as Sasuke stepped up. Before Iruka could even give the signal Sasuke had already transformed into Iruka. "O-ok." Iruka said. Sasuke then proceeded to return to his seat. "Next, Naruto Uzumaki."

"This is a real pain." Shikamaru groaned.

"And it's all your fault." Ino followed up glaring at Naruto.

"Like I care!" Naruto returned. He walked up and stood before Iruka. " **Transform**!" Naruto yelled. After a smoke cloud appeared and seemingly disappeared, before everyone stood a very naked female Naruto with only smoke covering the naughty bits striking a very provocative pose. Iruka's eyes shot wide open as blood flew from his nose and he fell back. Most of the girls were looking at Naruto with anger, and Seishi himself was finding it very difficult to pry his eyes off of the woman before him. _'Who would have guessed girl Naruto would be so cute.'_ Seishi thought as he struggled to hold down his blush. Another burst of smoke and Naruto was back to his normal self laughing his head off. "How was that? I call it my sexy jutsu." Naruto said to the fallen teacher. Iruka however was quick to return to his feet.

"YOU IDIOT! STOP MAKING IDIOTIC JUTSU!" Iruka yelled to the boy. Naruto sulked to an empty seat after being reamed at but he still let loose a couple giggles. After that lovely event things went rather smoothly moving through the line easily. Not one person failed the Transformation test, not even Naruto who made a mockery of the entire thing since he successfully performed a Transformation. Class went smoothly after that. At the end of class Iruka finished with an announcement.

"Now you all know your graduation exam is tomorrow. You've had preliminary tests through these last couple of weeks, but we will have extensive testing tomorrow." He informed the class. "We will be covering Taijutsu, One Ninjutsu, and a written test. Everyone do your best tomorrow and know that no matter what, I'm proud of each and every one of you. Dismissed." Iruka finished smiling at all the potential new graduates. Seishi was one of the first out the door, if he sat there any longer he was going to go insane. That day seemed to drag on forever. He waited outside the door for Sasuke. He waved to a few people as they passed by. Sasuke was one of the last out the door. Taking his time as usual.

"Sasuke." Seishi called out. Sasuke turned his eyes lazily and glanced towards him. "Do you want to train and get ready for tomorrow?" Sasuke shook his head.

"No. I'm doing something special to prepare for tomorrow." Sasuke said. Seishi narrowed his eyes.

"Special you say? Like what?" Seishi asked him inquisitively. Sasuke smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Sasuke goaded. A tick marked formed on Seishi's head.

"What was that punk? I'll flatten you!" Seishi exclaimed aloud. Sasuke chuckled before walking past Seishi.

"Not a chance." Sasuke replied coolly. Seishi clenched his fists. He didn't like being shoved off.

"Fine. Be like that, jerk." Seishi growled. He took a deep breath and calmed down. Sasuke continued walking, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he left. Seishi's shoulders slumped, there went his most solid training partner for the day. _'I'll just go train by myself then.'_ Seishi thought. He was disappointed for sure, but he wouldn't let that stop him. After waving goodbye to a couple of friends, he made his way to training ground three again. Seishi had made that his most frequented area to train aside from the training grounds inside the Uchiha clan.

It didn't take Seishi long to get there. It was empty when he arrived which suited Seishi just fine. Training ground three was a beautiful area of Konoha. The river was wide and its water cool. The trees thick but not overbearing and an open glade to practice what he wanted. Seishi made his way to the water's edge and proceeded to take his sandals off and roll up his pants legs. Once done he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and after channeling chakra into his feet, he stepped onto the water's surface. The water felt cool to the touch on the soles of his feet. Seishi opened his eyes and smiled as he looked down. He had learnt this not too long ago when he had run into Kakashi again. One of the reasons he came by training ground three so much was always the hope of running into Kakashi. He had always been nice and willing to help Seishi when he asked. He hadn't taught him much, but he had gave him plenty of little tips that had helped him tremendously. One such tip was to always keep a focus on his chakra so when in a tough situation it wouldn't take so long to form a substitution or a shunshin in case of emergency.

That lesson had definitely stuck with Seishi. He continuously practiced moving his chakra around while also doing several chakra control exercises so that he understood the feel of his chakra more and more. So far it had already bore fruit with him being able to do such things, like walk on water, that he knew his classmates couldn't do. He had shared the knowledge with Sasuke of course, but Sasuke hadn't begun practicing water-walking yet. His loss.

Returning his attention back to the task at hand, Seishi walked out into the water some more. His next task was multitasking with his chakra, so when he got out just a little bit farther he stopped, and took a deep breath. Going through a few hand seals he took a deep breath, and after heating up his chakra expelled his jutsu

" **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu"**

His finger and thumb on his right hand connected making a circle, Seishi blew with all his might expelling the chakra through the hole as it coalesced into a large fireball shooting just a few yards ahead of him, and as he blew harder he extended the flame until it almost touched the other side of the river. Seishi continued the fireball for several more seconds before letting it dissipate. Seishi leaned over sucking in air after expelling it for so long. He took deep breaths sucking in as much oxygen as possible to refill his lungs. After a few more breaths he finally stood back up and smiled. This task had been giving him trouble but he was happy to say that he'd gotten it down, at least somewhat as Seishi looked down and saw that he had sank a couple inches, proving to him that he needed to work on it more. Seishi put his hands together getting ready to try again when he felt a pressure on top of his head,

"Huh?" Was all Seishi was able to say before said pressure pushed him down and with a small shout he took a forced dive into the cool waters below. The pressure was relieved as soon as he went in, allowing Seishi to swim back up the to the surface, and by applying chakra to his forearms, stick to the water as if it was a ledge. He shook his head getting his wet bangs from over his eyes, only to see the culprit of his attack.

"Yo."

"Kakashi-san you jerk!" Seishi yelled to the white haired Jonin towering above him. Said Jonin gave him a smile that even crinkled his only open eye as he squatted down and gave a small wave to the now thoroughly wet child below him.

"Always be aware of your surroundings Seishi-kun. Let this be a lesson." The Jonin chided before chuckling and extending a hand to the boy. Seishi took the offered limb and was hoisted above the water's surface and with an application of chakra to his feet he stood on the surface as well. "I see you're taking my advice. Impressive how far you've come." Seishi grinned up at the man.

"Well I gotta get stronger, so anything an Elite Jonin tells me, I make sure to practice until it's mastered." Seishi replied to the man. Kakashi's words giving him a small bit of pride. Kakashi hummed in thought before asking the boy,

"Why do you want to get stronger?" Seishi gave kakashi a questioning glance wondering why Kakashi was asking that, before pondering it himself. After a few moments he gave Kakashi his answer,

"I want to make my family proud of me. Shisui and Dad were both incredible ninja, and I want to be as good if not better." After finishing his answer Seishi looked towards the waters surface and seeing his reflection. He looked so different and yet so alike his older brother it hurt to see. His memories of his family were still so vivid, he could pick out every detail about them, and it made those memories hurt even more. Before he could get too melancholy however, Kakashi broke him out of that train of thought by speaking.

"That's it?" Kakashi asked. Seishi looked back towards him again.

"Does there have to be more?" Seishi returned.

"I suppose not." Kakashi replied again. "Though some tend to have something about the village in their reasoning."

"Of course I care about the village," Seishi began, "But that isn't why I want to get stronger." Kakashi closed his eye and nodded at that. After a few moments he opened it again and smile at Seishi.

"Well the important thing is that you have a good reason." Kakashi told the boy.

"Why did you want to get stronger Kakashi-san?" Seishi asked the Jonin.

"Hmm." Kakashi hummed. "Well, I guess it's to protect everyone I can." Kakashi said after a few seconds of thought. Seishi smiled at Kakashi.

"That's a good reason too." Seishi said. Kakashi chuckled.

"I'd like to think so."

"So." Seishi began, "Did you come to give me some more tips?" Kakashi turned and began walking to the shore. Seishi began following him and when they both reached the shore, Kakashi spoke again.

"I don't have too much time today, but I can show you one thing." Kakashi replied. Seishi could feel himself getting excited as soon as he heard that. In his head he envisioned multiple situations of what Kakashi could be about to teach him, ranging from some awesome jutsu or…. another awesome jutsu.

"I'm going to impasse some parting wisdom." Seishi felt a little disappointment at not having some awesome jutsu from Kakashi, but he had not let him down before, so Seishi gave Kakashi his full attention.

"I have no doubt you're going to pass your graduation exam, so I want to give you a small gift." Seishi immediately got excited. A gift from a legendary ninja was not something to turn down. It could only be something of epic proportions that would kickstart his ninja career before it even began. Kakashi slowly reached into his vest, grabbed something and began removing his arm slowly. "I want you to have….. THIS!" Kakashi whipped out his hand, producing from his vest a small orange book with a man and woman on it with the title 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

"A book?" Seishi deadpanned. Kakashi's eyes went wide with shock.

"Not just any book young Seishi, but the greatest book in a series of greater books. I have several of this copy and I want to pass this treasure to you." Kakashi extended the book towards Seishi, his eye crinkling up again in his patented smile and giving a couple giggles. Seishi gave Kakashi a questioning look but accepted the book anyway.

Kakashi's smile widened when the book was fully in Seishi's grasp. "Well with that I must take my leave." Kakashi said. Kakashi reached out and ruffled the boy's hair, "Don't disappoint Seishi-kun. And take care of that book please." After shrugging off the offending hand of Kakashi, Seishi nodded to the man, giving his word that he'd take care of the book. With that final confirmation Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Seishi looked down to the book again. It didn't look all that great, but since it was a gift from Kakashi it had to be important. He thought about reading it now, but he decided to wait until tonight. Right now, he still needed practice with his control and focus, so after taking his off his still wet shirt, he went back to the water to practice some more.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka had not had the best morning so far. Her hair would not cooperate this morning, She had to promise her mother to help with their family's flower shop later, She had her seat taken next to Sasuke snatched by her from Sakura of all people, and her last and true best friend Seishi hadn't even showed up yet and today was graduation. Everything was NOT going as planned, and if things kept up, she was worried about her bad luck ruining her chances of graduating.

As she finished her thoughts in a huff however, her mood brightened as Seishi shuffled into the classroom. His hair was a little dishevelled and he had bags under his eyes, but he looked fine. Seeing him Ino stood up and waved to him to get his attention.

"Seishi-kun. Sit by me." She called out. Once his eyes met hers a huge blush swept over his face and he immediately looked away from her. Ino felt her heart pull as he looked for any other seat. Finally realizing that there wasn't one because Ino made sure no one sat next to her so he could sit there, he made his way over to her. Ino felt her chest tighten some more at being a last resort. Usually Seishi was always happy to sit by her but today he seemed like he didn't want to be anywhere near her. Ino was not going to let this stand. Seishi sat down in a hurry and quickly looked the other way from her. A tick mark formed on Ino's forehead as this went on. After a few moments Ino had already lost her patience,

"What's the matter with you?" Ino asked the boy. When she got no response she really lost all her patience. She put her hand on the boy's shoulder expecting to whip him around, but when her hand touched him he jumped so hard, a few people took notice and looked at him. Now Ino was slightly worried. Seishi always had his reasons for things and never did her wrong. She took a small breath to rid herself of her annoyance at him, and went into worry mode. "Seishi are you okay?" She asked him. All she got was a nod from him. "Seishi look at me." This time he shook his head. "I said look at me." Ino growled out. Slowly Seishi's head turned to her, and as soon as his eyes met hers, his face shot a deep red again.

Ino gave him a concerned look. She reached out and touched his forehead, and aside from a little dampness, there didn't seem to be a fever. Seishi's face was still beet red, in fact it looked more red from before. After some more examinations by Ino, Seishi finally spoke.

"Ino. Please stop." Seishi finally said. A brief look of hurt flashed over Ino's visage before it turned to anger.

"And why should I?" She asked.

"I just can't look at you right now." Seishi replied. A look of shock came over Ino as a new wave of hurt hit her.

"What did I do?" She said, a few tears coming up to her eyes. Seeing this Seishi panicked.

"No you didn't do anything wrong. It's me. I just.. You.. sorry." Seishi finally put his head in his hands. The tears slowly went away from Ino's eyes.

"You're not mad or hate me?" She asked. Seishi shook his head no. This left Ino confused. She went through several reasons why Seishi would be acting this way if he wasn't mad at her, until she finally came up with one that made sense. An evil smirk came over Ino's face. She leaned in super close to Seishi's ear and whispered,

"Is it possible my charm finally worked?" Seishi tensed up when he felt her hot breath hit him in the ear. "Are you jealous I like Sasuke-kun, and you wish it was you?" Seishi shot up his mouth wide open. He looked at Ino and could see the smug look on her face, and before he could tell her the actual reason, Iruka came in with a loud bang.

"Alright! We will now begin administering the final exams. You will have three portions to perform, and if you average well enough, you will earn an official Konoha Headband. Any questions?" Iruka waited a second to see if anyone did have any. After a moment of silence he spoke again, "Excellent. Let's begin with the written portion, followed by taijutsu."

The day went by rather quickly for Seishi. His thoughts kept distracting him so he didn't perform as well as he would have otherwise, but he was successful nonetheless. When he was told he had completed the Academy course and was presented with a myriad of headbands to choose from, he chose the black one. Not only was it the same color of the one Shisui had, but it also matched his outfit better. Frivolous, but he liked the color. Most of the class had passed easily, only a few had failed. One of them being Naruto Uzumaki. Seishi felt bad for him, but it wasn't like he didn't recognize that as a possibility. _'Poor guy.'_ Seishi thought. He definitely seemed like he had the stuff to be a ninja, he just didn't apply himself properly it seemed. It was out of Seishi's control now, so he just silently wished him luck and after Iruka's parting congratulatory words and him telling them when to be back for team assignments, he left the Academy with Sasuke after avoiding Ino and her friends.

He still felt bad for that, but he just couldn't look at her without his thoughts drifting into places they shouldn't. Seishi still couldn't believe what was in that book. He also didn't understand why it was so important and why Kakashi gave it to him. He read it all that night and could barely get any sleep because of it. When Seishi had gotten the book, he had assumed it would be full of information on how to better himself as a ninja, but it was full of… full of… Seishi still felt too embarrassed to even think about it. It was so detailed.

Sasuke finally broke him out of his musings when he spoke. "I'm glad you passed." Seishi smiled.

"Did you doubt me?" He asked. Sasuke shook his head in response.

"I'm just glad you didn't embarrass our clan." Sasuke said with a smirk. Seishi let out a laugh.

"As if. I'm the best in the clan now, I represent." Seishi claimed loudly. This got a small laugh out of Sasuke. Seeing Sasuke laugh made Seishi smile some more, it was a rare occurrence and one he appreciated. It meant his best friend wasn't totally boring.

"Everyone knows I'm the best." Sasuke rebutted. Before Seishi could retort however, Sasuke changed the topic. "Do you think we'll be on the same team?" Seishi took a moment to think on it.

"I hope so." He finally replied. "My dream team would be me, you, and Ino. But it's not like we can control it." Sasuke nodded at that.

"Well if anything, I hope my teammates are people that are competent and that I can stand." Sasuke said. Seishi nodded at that. He hoped that whoever he teamed with would be able to complement his skills and not hold him back. He was one of the best in the Academy, and he'd be damned if he didn't become one of the best ninja in this village. He was just excited to see who his Sensei would be.

* * *

 _A Few Days Later_

"We have a small problem." The Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi said. He was an aged man that looked to be in his sixties or seventies. He wore the white and red Hokage robes and his hat sat upon his desk. Before the Hokage stood several Jonin, many in the standard uniform, some in more eccentric outfits. Three of said Jonin had guaranteed genin teams. Those Jonin happened to be his son Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuuhi, and the most recently arrived Kakashi Hatake. Behind them stood the other Jonin, including Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi of the T and I department, Aoba Yamashiro, Genma Shiranui, Gekko Hayate, Might Guy, and others. Hiruzen cleared his throat and began to speak,

"In just a few days the new Genin will meet their sensei's. As is customary we will have several Jonin test the new Genin and see who is ready for their new life as ninja." Hiruzen said to the occupants in the room, "We as always have a four man cell, which includes one Jonin, and three Genin, but this year the numbers are a little bit different. We usually have twenty-seven graduates to make out nine genin teams to try out. This year we have twenty-eight." All the jonin looked at Sarutobi intently, wondering what this had to do with them. "With the failure of young Naruto-kun, we had twenty-seven, but later that night with the Mizuki incident, he passed after a field evaluation by Iruka-kun when he learned the Shadow Clone jutsu and apprehended the traitor. Naruto was originally going to be put with Kakashi since Kakashi had requested him, but with his failure I was going to insert Seishi Uchiha in his place. With Naruto-kun passing, he was returned to his original selection with Kakashi. Kakashi also took Sasuke Uchiha, seeing as his mental state is more troublesome than Seishi-kuns, and with Kakashi's reverence of teamwork, we hope Kakashi and Naruto can forge bonds with Sasuke and ensure his loyalty to the village. With Kurenai and Asuma's teams also set in stone, I would like your opinions on this. Where do we put Seishi? Do we break tradition and have a five man cell, or would someone like to take him on as an apprentice? I would like the feedback of everyone that has an opinion on this matter." Hiruzen asked all the jonin present.

"Hokage-sama, if I may." Kakashi began. The aged Hokage gave Kakashi a small nod. "I believe I requested Seishi to be put on my team." The Hokage nodded.

"You did, but as I stated, we're putting Sasuke Uchiha on your team to minimize the chances of him leaving the village, as well as someone who can help him develop the most." The Hokage answered Kakashi. The white haired man's shoulders slumped just slightly before replying.

"I have no say in this?" He asked.

"No."

"Very well Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied, his voice neutral and unfeeling. The Hokage bit back a sigh. He knew about the small bond Kakashi had developed with young Seishi-kun, but this was for the good of the village. Didn't mean he still didn't feel slightly bad for it. Hiruzen coughed in his hands before returning his attention to the rest of the group.

"Now back to the matter at hand. Does anyone have any opinions they'd like to share?" The aged Sarutobi asked his small congregation.

All the Jonin looked towards another, some muttering softly. Sarutobi heard many opinions, and waited patiently until one was addressed to him. The first to do so was Kurenai,

"Maybe we should have him wait until an available team makes itself presentable. Even if he has to wait another year, it would give him time to mature before he became a shinobi." She said to the aged Hiruzen in front of her. Hiruzen nodded once but didn't give an answer, seeming to want more suggestions. Next to the Hokage, one of his elite bodyguards Raido Namiashi spoke up,

"Maybe I should take him on Hokage-sama. Teach him all of my assassination tricks, and groom him to take over my position when I am no longer able." Raido suggested to the Hokage, who hummed in thought before answering Raido,

"A good thought, but I need you by my side still Raido, especially with my age. Although your offer is tempting." Raido nodded and fell silent. Sarutobi patiently waited for any other opinions. After a while it was again Raido who spoke up,

"Well how about Anko?" At the mention of her name, Anko shot him a dirty look, being one of the youngest Jonin at twenty-two, she did not think she had to worry about students. Apparently she was wrong as her name was tossed up. Hiruzen smiled at the thought, thinking the brash Anko and the calculating Seishi could be a good mix, maybe giving Seishi the best of both personalities.

"I think that's an excellent idea Raido." Anko looked appalled at hearing Sarutobi agree with his bodyguard. She was quick to take up an argument,

"Hokage-sama you can't be serious. I'm the youngest here, surely there is someone more qualified than me, plus I'm working in the Torture and Interrogation squad, surely I can't leave there."

Hiruzen thought about Anko's points, seeing the merit in leaving her in T&I, but before he could speak, her superior Ibiki Morino spoke up,

"If I may Hokage-sama, I think this would be a good opportunity for Anko." He looked over to her and saw the betrayed look on her face, he smiled at her, but inside he was a whirlwind of thoughts. He knew Anko was good at what she did, but while she may be a natural, she was still young, and Ibiki didn't want someone as young as her stuck in T&I forever. There's a reason why that institution is full of battle hardened and older shinobi. He knew this would be good for her, even if she didn't like it.

"Then it's settled, unless someone else would rather apprentice him." The Hokage spoke. No one spoke up so after a few moments Hiruzen made it final. "Anko will be taking on an apprentice in the form of Seishi Uchiha. Everyone else may leave, Anko please stay so we can discuss things and get the paperwork filled out. Anko groaned and hung her head as everyone filed out, Kurenai gave Anko a couple taps on the shoulder as she past her. After everyone had filed out Sarutobi beckoned Anko to sit in the chair across from him. Which she ;aid across with a huff.

"Now I understand you may not like this, but I also think this would be good for you." Sarutobi said to the disgruntled young woman in front of him. Anko groaned before speaking,

"No offence Hokage-sama, but I don't have time to be dealing with brats. I still need to get stronger in case Orochimaru shows back up." She said to him. The Hokage leaned back in his chair before pulling out his pipe, lighting it, and taking a couple puffs.

"Maybe," Hiruzen began after a few puffs, "Revenge isn't the best way to get stronger. Maybe you should have something to protect, something to live for. Maybe that will help you truly get stronger." Anko choked out a laugh.

"Really? Like some brat is going to make me do that." Anko said sarcastically.

"Children work in mysterious ways. Maybe after a while you'd want to protect him and get stronger to do that." Hiruzen said to the girl. At this Anko sat straight in the chair. She gave the Hokage a very serious look.

"The only thing I want is to make Orochimaru pay for what he's done." Anko said in a low voice. Sarutobi looked upon her with sad eyes.

"And to what end would you go to accomplish this task?" Hiruzen asked. "Would you kill yourself just to make sure he went down with you? I know about that double suicide jutsu. I was there when he made it." Anko looked away in slight shame. In truth she was planning on doing exactly that next time she saw him. It would free both of her burdens, but hearing the Hokage call her out on it did not give her a good feeling.

"And what is it you want me to do with the boy?" She asked the man. Hiruzen smiled softly.

"Same thing I want from any other Jonin sensei. I want you to cultivate a young mind into being the best he can be, and I hope from this experience you can find something to live for besides revenge." The Hokage said. He leaned farther back in his chair and let Anko stew on his words.

"Can I fail him?" She asked. Hiruzen gave her a questioning glance.

"You would have the right as his Jonin instructor, but from all assessments we have gotten, it would seem he is more than ready." Hiruzen told the Kunoichi. "I only ask that you be fair in this assessment." Anko heaved a big sigh.

"I don't have a choice in this?" She asked, putting up one last defense. Hiruzen chuckled as he leaned forward.

"Not anymore." Sometimes it felt good being Hokage.

* * *

Seishi woke up the day of teams selection super excited. He was finally going to start his ninja missions and be super awesome as only he could be. He got dressed quickly, putting on his black high collar shirt with his clans symbol proudly blazed on the back, his black shorts, his sandals, and attaching his weapon holster to his belt loop which he made sure was full of tools he may need. He finished his ensemble by taping his hand, leaving his fingers exposed and taping up to mid forearm. Finally he grabbed his clean Konoha headband and put it on his forehead, tying it to make sure it wouldn't come off. He glanced at Shisui's sword which lay clean and polished near his windowsill, before moving past it and walking out. He checked in to see if Sasuke was in, and seeing that he wasn't, moved to the kitchen to make lunch for the both of them. He wasn't sure if they'd be eating together since today was team day, but it couldn't hurt to have.

After making something easy, Seishi proceeded to make his way to the Academy for (hopefully) the last time. Seishi was super excited about finally graduating so he essentially speedwalked making it to the Academy in record time. When he got there, he was surprised by how many people were would seem he wasn't the only one excited to be done. He looked for Sasuke so he could pass his lunch, but sitting next to Sasuke was someone he didn't expect to see. Seishi moved towards Sasuke and handed him his lunch, which the Uchiha gave a small 'Thanks' in return. Seishi then turned to the boy that peaked his curiosity. Seishi moved back into the walkway and looked at what really surprised him. Sitting next to Sasuke was Naruto Uzumaki, who he had thought had failed.

"Yo Naruto." Seishi said to the boy. Said orange-clad blond slowly raised his head to make eye contact with him. "I thought you failed, what are you doing here?" Seishi asked. The boy just pointed his thumb at his forehead, which sat a slightly worn official Konoha headband proving he was indeed a ninja. Seishi gave him a questioning glance, to which Naruto replied with just a smile. Seishi shook his head while laughing, _'Just another Naruto Thing.'_ Seishi shrugged and let the matter drop, taking a seat in almost the direct middle of the classroom. Looking back to the blond, he couldn't help but smile at the shit-eating grin present on the boys face. Not too long after the rest of the class started filing in. No one really spoke until Shikamaru noticed Naruto as well when he walked by him.

"What are you doing here Naruto? This place isn't for dropouts." The Nara said to the boy. "You can't be here unless you graduated." At this Naruto sat up, and again pointing his thumb to his new accessory retorted to Shikamaru.

"Oh yeah," He began "Do you see this? Do you see this? Open your eyes Shikamaru it's a regulation headband." Shikamaru sweatdropped at the boy, but he wasn't done. "We're going to be training together, how do you like that?" He asked. Shikamaru sighed getting annoyed, but the boy still wasn't done. "Let me put it to you this way, I look great in this headgear, like it was made for me. Believe it. Believe it." The boy finished with a laugh. Shikamaru sighed once more.

"Troublesome." The Nara said as he made his way to a front row seat. Not soon after a ruckus was heard coming from the hallway. What seemed to be a stampede was soon figured out to be Sakura and Ino as they both came flying into the doorway.

"I'm first!" They both yelled. Immediately after they both began panting for air. They had obviously been exerting themselves "I won again Sakura." Ino began gloating.

"Give it up." Sakura replied. "I had to look back to see you, my toe was at least a tenth-of-an-inch ahead of you."

"Have you always been this delusional." Ino retorted. After that comment they both began giving each other death stares. Sakura was the first to break the stare as she started scanning the classroom. As soon as she found what she was looking for she immediately took off. "Woah hey, where you going?" Ino asked. Seishi watched with interest as Sakura obviously made her way towards Sasuke. Naruto however was in her way, he stood up to greet her.

"Hey Sakura, what's up?" He asked the girl. To which she replied by elbowing in the side and pushing him out of the way.

"G-good morning Sasuke." Sakura said in a sweet voice. Sasuke turned his head towards her. "Mind if I sit with you?" Before anyone could answer a brunette girl with large pigtails walked over and said,

"Actually I was here before you. I'm sitting next to Sasuke." That caused several other girls to voice their desire to sit next to Sasuke. Seishi's eyebrow twitched at seeing this commotion over Sasuke. That was until he heard someone getting into the seat next to him. Seishi turned and saw Ino adjusting her hair in the seat over to him. He decided to turn his attention to her instead of getting jealous over Sasuke.

"Not going to join the circus this time?" Seishi asked. Ino giggled before answering.

"No, it's not worth it today." Ino said. Seishi raised quirked an eyebrow at hearing this. "Besides I sit next to you most of the time anyway. Why should today be any different?" Ino finished with a bright smile. Seishi grinned back at his other best friend. Before he could reply he heard a commotion behind him. Seishi turned around only to come face-to-face with something he never thought he'd see.

Locking lip with Sasuke was not Sakura or any of those girls, it was currently Naruto Uzumaki. Seishi looked at it with wide eyes, unable to look away. Naruto and Sasuke immediately broke apart immediately gagging and trying to rid themselves of any shared germs. Seishi just broke out laughing. This was too perfect. This was something he could use forever on Sasuke to make fun of him. He wished he had a camera right now, to capture this moment. Seishi turned back in his seat, turning towards Ino and seeing the annoyed look on her face.

"Well that's a shame." She said. Seishi laughter suppressed itself into giggles before he was finally able to speak.

"Oh no," He said, "You can't have the Uchiha's first kiss." Seishi said in a mock distressed voice. Ino gave him a sour look before yelling.

"I still can have one Uchiha's if I can't have the other." Seishi immediately stopped laughing and gave Ino a wide-eyed stare. Ino immediately covered her mouth before coughing and looking forward, a light blush on her cheeks. Seishi felt heat rise to his as well before he too faced the front. Finally things started to calm down after those fiascos.

As all the new Genin waited, the door was opened and in walked Iruka. He walked in with a proud smile and a clipboard in hand. He spoke when he got to the forefront of the room

"Welcome to Team Assignments, brand new Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village. As a teacher I am proud to have taught such excellent minds with tremendous potential." Iruka said to the class, many smiling back at him, relishing in the praise. "As of today, you are no longer my students, you will be the students of Jonin, Elite Ninja, who will cultivate you into even finer shinobi that this village will be proud to call their own. We've balanced each squad on their abilities and scores throughout the Academy. Now onto Team Assignments, Team One…" Iruka started calling out names of mostly civilian children, until he got to number seven.

"Team Seven shall consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno," At this the blonde became elated and the pinkette sullen, " and Sasuke Uchiha" Iruka called out. At this their roles became reversed, with Sakura elated and Naruto sullen. "Team Eight will consist of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka." Kiba whooped and high fived his puppy Akamaru. "And finally Team Ten shall consist of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Chouji Akimichi" Iruka finished. However a groan was heard by the female Yamanaka. Ino put her head in her hands and silently fumed as she paired with who she thought was the worst. Waiting for Iruka to continue, Seishi sat there patiently. He and Sasuke shared confused glances before raising his hand and speaking,

"Excuse me Iruka-sensei, but you didn't tell me what team I am on." Seishi said to his former teacher. Iruka smiled at Seishi before speaking,

"Well Seishi, someone has decided to take you on as an apprentice. You will meet with her when she arrives with all the other Jonin." Iruka explained to him. Seishi grinned at that. Someone saw his amazing potential and obviously wanted to make him the best. _'Sasuke can eat his heart out.'_ Seishi boasted in his mind. "And those are all the squads." Iruka finished. Before Iruka could say anything further, Naruto stood up and burst out,

"Iruka-sensei! Why does an awesome ninja like me have to be put with a slug like Sasuke?" Naruto said while pointing at said Sasuke.

"Well Naruto," Iruka started, "Sasuke had the best score of all the graduating class. You had the worst." At this the entire class started laughing, even Seishi couldn't hold back a few chuckles. "To create a balanced team," Iruka continued, "We paired the best student with the worst student." Iruka finished.

"Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser." Sasuke said to him. Naruto started shaking in anger.

"What did you say?" He asked Sasuke.

"Hard of hearing?" The raven haired boy retorted. Before this could escalate, Iruka cleared his throat, getting the attention of the entire class.

"You will all meet your Jonin-sensei after lunch. Until then class dismissed." Iruka said. As soon as he finished that sentence, everyone started filing out rather quickly. Seishi was again one of the first out, and waited for Sasuke to emerge. Sasuke was out right after Seishi, which surprised him, but he struck up a conversation with him.

"Hey Sasuke, wanna eat lunch together and talk?" Seishi asked him. Sasuke just grunted and walked past him. Seishi gave Sasuke a confused look. "Hey, what's up Sasuke?"

"Why doe someone want to apprentice you and not me?" Sasuke whirled on him and asked. Seishi just got even more confused.

"I don't know." Seishi said. "But I'm not complaining." Sasuke gave him a sour look.

"Being on this team is only going to slow me down." Sasuke said in a rather heated but hushed voice. "I need to get stronger ASAP, and now I'm stuck with the dead-last and a fangirl, while you get one-on-one training with an elite." Sasuke fumed. "It doesn't make sense and it isn't fair." He finished.

"Well I didn't choose it Sasuke. Give Naruto a chance, he's already impressed us in sparring." Seishi began trying to placate his clansmen, "Maybe with your help, he can become a good ninja just like we plan to be." Sasuke looked at Seishi with a steely gaze for a little bit longer before sighing.

"Maybe you're right. We'll see." Sasuke said as he resigned himself to his fate.

"So lunch?" Seishi asked.

"No. I need some space to think." Sasuke said. Seishi sighed and shrugged.

"Suit yourself Sasuke." With that he turned to head back to the classroom and eat his lunch in there and patiently wait. When Seishi arrived back to the classroom it was empty. He sighed, he had hoped at least Ino would be there so he could piggyback with her, but it was not meant to be. _'I wonder who wants to make me their apprentice.'_ Seishi thought. _'I would like it to be Kakashi-san, but Iruka-sensei said 'her'. Who could it be?'_ a few minutes later Iruka walked back in.

"Seishi? I thought you'd be out to lunch with your friends on your last day here." Iruka said. Seishi rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and replied,

"Well they're nowhere to be seen and since I don't have a team to hang with, I figured I'd just come back and wait." Seishi replied to the man. Iruka nodded and began to speak.

"Well I'm sure you'll be excited about your teacher. She's very strong, though I was surprised she wanted to take on-" As Iruka was talking a cloth ball came flying through the glass, shattering it on impact. As the cloth ball unfurled two kunai shot out and pinned the cloth to the edges. The cloth unfurled to reveal a rather scantily clad Kunoichi, and behind her the cloth had written on it,

'THE AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL ANKO MITARASHI'

"I'm looking for Seishi Uchiha, the kid I'll make feared in all the Elemental Nations." The woman's large grin faded as she noticed the near empty room. Her eyes soon met Seishi's, "Who are you?" She asked. Seishi could only stare slack jawed at the woman. She was wearing mesh clothing from her neck to her thighs, with an orange skirt and trench coat covering her important bits. She also wore shin guards over her sandals and a fang necklace.

"ANKO! What do you think you're doing? You're early!" Iruka yelled as he pulled himself from behind the cloth wall. The newly arrived Anko laughed sheepishly and rubbed her neck.

"Just looking for my new brat." She replied to the enraged man.

"And you had to come through the window for that?!" Iruka yelled at her. Anko stuck her tongue out at him and just asked him.

"So where is my prized pupil?" She asked the teacher. Iruka angrily gestured to Seishi who still sat in his seat with his eyes as wide as saucers. "Seriously?" She asked aloud. She then sauntered over to Seishi, who did his hardest not to peek at anything that might lead to an early death. "You don't look like much." she said flatly. At this Seishi's attitude changed completely.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" Seishi yelled at her. Anko grinned at him before gesturing to the cloth sign behind her.

"Can't you read?" She asked him.

"Also how did you not know who I was? You chose me as your apprentice right?" Seishi asked her. Anko put a finger to her chin as if in contemplation before replying,

"Well chose and forced-upon are two very different things." Seishi's eye twitched at that. "Well for now I'm your Jonin-sensei. My first task is be at training ground three in five minutes or I'll make sure you're never a ninja." Anko said to Seishi as she gave him a sickly-sweet smile. Seishi leaned back, looking towards Iruka for help, who was currently taking down the sign. Looking back at Anko her smile turned sinister as she tapped her wrist. "Clocks ticking." She said in a flat voice. And with that she leapt back out the window where she entered. Seishi looked at Iruka again, who turned back to Seishi.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Iruka told him. "I have a mess to clean up." With those words Seishi scrambled out of his chair and through the door, starting to sprint his way to training ground three.


	5. Chapter 5- A New Beginning

**I'm happy to present another chapter. I noticed a few typos last chapter, and I will do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. Two things I would like to address, One review said that Seishi seemed like he was in the back seat. This is intended. Sasuke since he was tortured with the Mangekyo by Itachi, is more of a risk than Seishi, so the Village has more eyes on him. Also their social circles are different. Sasuke has little to no friends outside of Seishi since his goal of revenge he feels his his and his alone, so Sasuke feels as if bonds will slow him down, which is show in the show and manga, and Seishi is on good and friendly terms with a few people, since his actual family was lost before the massacre, he doesn't have the same drive for revenge that Sasuke does. Granted he still feels some anger and regret, but I'll delve into that more later. Being two different people that is also a psychological difference in the two. Seishi lost everything systematically, while Sasuke had it all ripped in one night, on top of mental torture, and has a target for his blame, while Seishi does not. Plus being two different people, they handled their trauma in two different ways. As for the pairing of the story, it is undecided. I am open to suggestions, but as of right now there is no set pairing. The important names in the description of the story are just the most current relevant characters who take up a primary focus and may change in time. This chapters a little shorter than the last one, but I wanted to give it to you anyway so you know this story isn't dead already. Anyway, enough of this ramble. Please review so I can improve, and I hope you enjoy this installment. :)**

Seishi jumped down from the trees and stumbled a little on the landing. He had just made it to training ground three in record time. He put his hands on his knees as he panted, trying to refill his lungs with oxygen. He looked up to see his new brand new teacher, Anko Mitarashi, giving him a bored look while eating what appeared to be a stick of Dango.

"You took so long, I had time to get a snack." Anko said before finishing the last ball on the stick. With her snack finished, she flicked the stick towards Seishi. Seishi ducked as the speeding stick came straight towards his head at insane speeds. Seishi stood back up and looked at her with wide eyes. Anko shrugged, giving Seishi a smirk. She soon raised her arms above her head and stretched her shoulders, closing her eyes and slightly bending her back to fully stretch out. This motion caused her trench coat to widen out, giving Seishi a small view of what was hidden underneath. Seishi's face immediately heated up, and he averted his eyes before she caught him looking. He was thankful he couldn't see skin or else he might not have been able to look away.

"You know," Seishi heard the voice of his new teacher, "Getting distracted like that and looking away could lead to your death." Seishi's head turned back towards her, doing his best to keep his eyes up. Thankfully Anko was no longer stretching, and was just looking at him with a superior smug look. Seishi was still having trouble fighting his blush, but he kept his eyes on her. "In the ninja world, a simple slip in focus could lead to your death. Always remember to keep your cool." Seishi just nodded at that. It was something everyone learned at the Academy, but he didn't think this was a fair example.

"Now," Anko said, "Let's begin the test." Seishi looked at her confused.

"What test?" He asked her. She didn't answer him at first, she just turned around and scraped a line in the dirt behind her.

"The test," She said, "is something every Jonin will give to their students to see if they're ready to be a ninja, and to see what values they hold." Anko finished. Seishi was still confused. Hadn't they already taken a test in the Academy? If it was something every Jonin did, what was the point of the Academy test? He decided to voice his concerns to her.

"If every Jonin gives a test, why did we take a test in the Academy?" Seishi asked. Anko turned back around after finishing making the line definitive.

"The Academy test is to see if you're capable of growing as a ninja." Anko said. "The Jonin test is to see if you have the character to be a Shinobi of the Leaf." Seishi was silent after that. Having grown up in the Leaf, he knew they valued camaraderie. It was drilled into their heads through the Academy about teamwork. They were told that they would always work in squads on missions, and always did team drills and games. But he didn't have a team, so what was his test?

"Anko-sensei, I don't have teammates, how will you test my character?" Seishi asked her. Anko gave him a small smile. _'Glad to see he's not dumb.'_ Anko thought.

"Most Jonin use tests to divide the team, to see who can look above their own self-preservation for the good of a team and their mission." Anko lectured. "My own sensei used what he called a 'bell test', that he got from his sensei." Anko gave a slight grimace, but it immediately went away as she continued lecturing. "He had two bells that three of us had to contest over, and the one who didn't have get a bell would be sent back to the academy." Seishi's felt things click in his head.

"It makes sense then." Seishi began. "With their ninja career on the line, they focus on themselves, and they'll forsake their teammates to protect their own future." Anko nodded at that, her smile coming back.

"Very good. And those ninja are sent back or dropped from the program altogether." Seishi sighed. It was so simple, yet so good. No wonder why it was a ninja test. It took everything they learned from the Academy to accomplish one simple task. Brilliant. Though it still left Seishi wondering,

"So since we can't do that, what is my test." Seishi asked full on confusion. Anko's smile grew wider at that.

"Your task is simple. All you have to do is get past this line behind me." Seishi leaned a little to his left to look at the line better. He then glanced back at Anko who had a wide smile on her face.

"That's it?" Seishi asked.

"That's it." Anko replied.

"No tricks?"

"I didn't say that." Anko chuckled. "Now before we begin." Seishi looked straight at Anko, giving her his full attention. "If you fail this," Her voice then went darker, "I'm dropping you from the whole Ninja program." Seishi's eyes went as wide as saucers. His mouth dropped open, and he started to protest.

"That's not fair!" He yelled. "If you can't test my character, how can you do that?" He continued yelling at her. Anko, still smiling her wide smile, replied,

"I can do what I want. I have the authority." Seishi immediately yelled back.

"It still isn't fair." Seishi sulked. Anko's smile dropped, and she yelled back.

"You dumb brat! Everything about being a ninja isn't fair." Seishi glared back at her. He was about to start charging but he took a deep breath. _'If there was a hidden element to the bell test, there's probably a hidden one to this.'_ Seishi thought. He had one plan, he was about to see if it worked.

"One piece of advice, come at me with everything you got, or I'll get bored and we're done." Anko said to Seishi. Seishi's eye twitched. She was definitely not going to be bored. That was an insult to him, an Uchiha, and in his opinion, the better of the two Uchiha in the village. She would not get 'bored'. He would make sure of that, but first he had to test out his plan.

"Are we good to start?" Seishi asked. Anko regained her composure and simply nodded. Seishi then slowly began walking towards Anko, who just raised her eyebrow and gave him a quizzical look. Seishi continued walking all the way until he stood right in front of Anko. "May I please go over the line?" Seishi asked. Anko bent forward until she was eye level with Seishi.

"You can't honestly think it's going to be that easy." Anko said incredulously. She stared him in the eyes, seeing if he would flinch. Seishi didn't, instead he just shrugged his shoulders.

"What if I said pretty please?" He asked her. A tick mark formed on Anko's head. She began yelling right into his face

"If you don't take this seriously, then I'm leaving and we're done!" Seishi grimaced slightly. _'It was worth a shot.'_ He thought sadly. Seeing that didn't work out, Seishi immediately went for Plan B. Seishi tried to dash past Anko, but as soon as he made a move towards the line, Anko reacted and buried her fist into Seishi's stomach, launching several meters away. Seishi hit the ground solid on his back. He clutched his stomach and sat up.

"The hell was that for?" Seishi asked. Anko just glowered at him.

"We're ninja." She began. "You're even more pathetic than I thought if you think that was gonna work." Seishi frowned and stood up. He was not going to let that slide. He was not pathetic, and he was not a waste of time. He would prove that to her now. Drawing two kunai out of his holster, he charged at Anko. She said not to hold back, and he would make her regret that. When Seishi got near, he threw the kunai at her in short range. Anko sidestepped one and caught the other, leaving her with a weapon and Seishi without one. He didn't care. Seishi led in with a spinning kick towards Anko's midsection. She easily deflected with her open hand. Seishi continued his momentum and brought the other kick towards her head, jumping slightly on his grounded foot for the height difference. Anko ducked underneath that one easily. She swung her hand out, swatting at the leg Seishi kicked the ground off of to throw him off balance. The move forced Seishi upside down, which he caught himself with his hands. Springboarding back to regain his balance, he charged back in. He let loose a flurry of punches and kicks, that Anko seemed to dodge easily. Finally Seishi over extended himself, letting his arm sail past Anko's head, and with his midsection open, Anko spun around and unleashed a powerful kick into Seishi's stomach, and sent him rolling away from her. Anko let out a deep breath and returned her outstretched leg to the ground. She just watched as Seishi slowly recovered from that second kick.

"You know, when they told me I'd have an Uchiha to train, I expected better." Seishi raised himself up slowly and grimaced. That's the second time she had hit him in his torso, and she did not hold back. "Honestly, you're laughable." Seishi glared at her, but she wasn't done. "I worked with your older brother quite a few times you know, and I can honestly say he'd be disappointed in how you turned out. He was ten times the ninja you were at this age." Seishi's glared hatefully at her. He didn't want that to be true, it couldn't be true. Shisui would never have been disappointed in him, and Seishi hated that she thought she could possibly know what he would say. She had no right. Seishi stood back up and continued glaring at Anko. "We'll if you're gonna prove me wrong, get on with it." She called out to him. Seishi took a deep breath and let it out. He then went through several hand seals, taking a deep breath he prepared his jutsu.

 **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**

Seishi called out before releasing a torrent of flames towards Anko. Anko raised her eyebrow seeing the massive ball of flames come barreling towards her. _'Impressive.'_ Anko thought. She quickly jumped out of the way. Looking for Seishi, she was surprised to not see him still casting the flames. Instead she saw him right behind it as he ran towards where the line would be. As soon as Anko's feet touched the ground, she sent herself back towards Seishi. As Seishi neared the line he felt something grab his collar, and then he was off his feet. Anko gripped Seishi around the collar, and after one wind up swing with Seishi in tow, she hurled him towards the tree line. Seishi flew through the air for a good several yards before landing on the ground and rolling a couple more. As soon as he stopped, he brought himself to his feet.

"Nice try, but you're gonna have to do better than that." Anko called out to him. Seishi grimaced again. He was not done yet. Seishi took off towards Anko, and after throwing several shuriken, he brought his hands together for another jutsu. After five hand seals, he was ready.

 **Fire Style: Phoenix flower Jutsu**

Seishi called out. He blew out several small fireballs towards Anko, but not in the same path as the shuriken. Anko saw the several projectiles and started weaving through them. Not a single one hit her as they all flew past, the fireballs had left the air hot, but not close enough to even singe her hair. Seishi ran in after the fire balls, engaging Anko in taijutsu again. He gave her everything he had, but after attempting a punch to the side of her gut, Anko had dodged and again kicked Seishi away, this time her kick landing on his chest, sending him sprawling away yet again.

"I'm getting bored Seishi." Anko called out. Seishi struggled to his feet again, wiping away a little bit of blood on his lips. "If this is all you can muster, you don't need to be a ninja." Seishi struggled to his feet again. He was tired of being insulted. Before he could charge in again, Anko spoke. "What drives you to get behind this line Seishi. What makes you want to be a ninja." Seishi thought for a moment on his answer. It was a question he always asked himself, and one that people always asked him. His answer was always the same. He stood tall when he gave his answer,

"I want to be a ninja to make my family and my clan proud." Seishi said. Anko didn't say anything to that. Seishi glared at Anko and yelled, "And the reason I want to get over that line, is to SHUT YOU UP!" With that Seishi charged. Anko grinned, now she was excited. He came in with a vengeance, meeting Anko in another flurry of taijutsu. However, unlike before, when Seishi felt he was losing he jumped back. Going through hand seals again Seishi readied his jutsu.

 **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**

Another fireball came careening towards Anko, and like before she jumped out of the way. Seeing Anko jump out of the way, Seishi charged towards the line. Anko saw the boy take off and sighed. As soon as her feet hit the ground she was off again. Grabbing Seishi's collar she went to throw him with a yell of, "Try again brat!" Though as soon as she went to throw him, a pop was heard and Anko ended up throwing a log. Her eyes went wide as she realized why he did the same thing twice. Anko whirled around to see Seishi dashing towards the line. _'He's close'_ Anko thought in surprise. She immediately leapt towards him, as soon as she landed she swung her leg out for a fierce kick. Seeing the kick Seishi leaned back and fell to his knees, sliding under her outstretched leg. As soon as he cleared that obstacle, Seishi popped back to his feet and dove towards the line. He was so close. So close to winning. Before he could hit the ground however, he felt something grab his collar once again. Seishi shut his eyes in anger. So close yet so far yet again. Seishi was currently hanging just short of the line. Seishi felt his energy drop as he let his hands fall and braced himself for the throw. Anko stood over him, hand on his collar. She had caught him just short. Anko looked down at Seishi and smirked. _'You really are impressive brat.'_ Anko then proceeded to drop Seishi on the line. She was satisfied.

Seishi let out an 'oomph' as he hit the ground. He was so tired, but he had to keep trying. He put his arms on the ground to raise himself up. When he did however, he felt the uneven earth below him. Seishi's eyes shot open in shock. Looking down he saw what he didn't think he would. He was over the line. His hands on it, his head and shoulders past it.

He did it.

Seishi immediately stood up and looked at Anko who had a huge grin on her face. He stared at her in shock, he honestly didn't think he could do it. "Congrats brat. You have passed the test." Seishi just stared at her in disbelief. His mind reeling. "I'm proud to say that from now on we're Team Anko, and we'll be doing missions as such." Anko said happily. She then bent down towards Seishi and rubbed his head. She gave him a wide enough grin to shut her eyes, and then stood up. "Now come on, to celebrate we're going out for Dango. Your treat of course for wasting my time." Anko laughed as she turned around and began walking away. Seishi just stood there, still shook. Though his mind finally returned and he smiled widely. Seishi felt so proud of himself right now, and nothing could stop his happiness.

"Wait…" Seishi said."What do you mean my treat? I'm paying?" Seishi yelled after Anko who was already walking away singing about dango. "Anko-sensei wait!" Seishi yelled as he went to catch up to her. Seishi grimaced as he felt the after effects of their little battle. He hurt, but he was happy. He was finally a Ninja.

"Hurry up Seishi!" Anko yelled as she whirled around towards him. She put her hands on her hips and stared him down as he caught up. "That dango isn't gonna eat itself." Seishi sighed, at least his sensei was strong, even if she was weird.

* * *

Seishi yawned as he followed Anko to where they would be training that day. After paying for her enormous serving of dango yesterday (though he still had no idea where she kept all that dango that she devoured), she had told him to meet her early in the morning. Once he did however, they began a long walk through a forest to wherever they'd be going. Seishi yawned again as he stared at the back of his teacher.

"Sensei, where are we going?" Seishi asked Anko.

"Our new training ground since we're a team." She replied. "We're almost there don't worry." Seishi yawned again but kept trudging along behind her. Not soon after they broke the tree line and emerged in an open area. Seishi's jaw dropped as he was met with another forest. However, this one was unlike the one he just went through. The trees were absolutely gigantic and had a very ominous looking feel to them. The forest itself seemed to be fenced off all the way around from where Seishi could see.

"Uhh, Anko-sensei, where are we?" Seishi asked her. Anko twirled dramatically, her trench coat flapping behind her in a picturesque fashion. She threw her arms out wide and with a smile said,

"Welcome to Training Ground 44: The Forest of Death!" Anko exclaimed. Seishi gave her a questioning look.

"The forest of what?"

"Death."

"As in…?

"Death."

"I got that." Seishi sighed. "Why are we going to train in a place that has death in the name? Sounds kinda counter-productive?" He asked his sensei, who he was now sure is more crazy than he thought.

"You _shouldn't_ die in there, but if you do die, at least you'll die closer to home." Anko gave him a smirk.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!" Seishi yelled exasperatedly. Anko started laughing at the annoyed look on Seishi's face. At seeing his sensei laugh at him, Seishi's face morphed into a pout. "Rude." He mumbled under his breath. Anko shook her head, still releasing a few chuckles.

"C'mon, we're wasting time." She said to the even more downtrodden boy. Seishi groaned but moved his feet nonetheless. They made their way to the gates surrounding the monstrous forest, stopping just outside for Anko to unlock one and let them both in. Seishi shuddered as he passed through the threshold. The entire aura of the woods was giving him a weird vibe and he was not appreciative of it.

"Now." Anko began as she closed the gates behind them. "We're not going to go too far in today, but just know, you are not allowed to leave these woods until I unlock the gates and allow you out. Is that understood?" She said to him. All mirth from before was lost in her tone of voice, adopting a much more strict tone.

"Yes Sensei." Seishi responded quickly, the fear from the forest replaced with an excited feeling of finally being able to train as a ninja. Almost.

Anko raised a finger and had all of Seishi's attention. "Now, we're going to start with a very simple training exercise." Anko said. Seishi nodded, waiting for her to continue. "We're going to play a game of tag." She said with all seriousness.

"Seriously? Tag?" He asked incredulously. Anko only nodded with a large smile on her face. "No tricks?" He asked her.

"Not a one." She said.

"What are the rules?" He asked, not wanting to be duped, and for good reason if his Sensei was as crazy as he pegged her to be.

"Ninja art and tools are allowed." Anko replied to him. Seishi thought for a second before asking another question.

"Will there be a winner? And if so, what are the stipulations?" Anko gave him a more predatory smirk.

"Yes, a winner will be crowned when one of us can no longer play, or it reaches noon. The loser however, has to treat the other to dinner." Anko said to Seishi, who now got another annoyed look on his face.

"This again? Is this just some ploy to get me to pay for your Dango addiction." He asked, ready to get more annoyed if that was indeed the case. Anko's grin turned more friendly as she gave him a simple answer.

"Yep." Seishi groaned again, _'Of course it was.'_

"Fine, but I don't plan on losing." He declared with a defiant look in his eye. Anko met his challenging gaze with one of her own,

"Neither do I brat." Anko replied challengingly as she leaned forward and stared at Seishi. Seishi also leaned forward, their faces not too far apart as they glared into each other's eyes. Until Seishi shot his hand out, smacking Anko in the shoulder.

"You're it!" He yelled as he turned around and bolted into the trees, jumping into the branches after a short distance. Anko stared after him in shock, she was JUST about to do that to him. Her look of shock turned deadly as a large grin reappeared on her face.

"Cheeky brat. Big mistake." She said before she too took off into the trees, giving chase to the Uchiha that got a head start.

Seishi continued jumping from limb to limb, confidant that he had made some good ground against his Sensei. He was the fastest in his graduating class, so he was sure his speed accounted for something, regardless if she was a Jonin or not. Just as he thought about slowing down and hiding, a kunai whizzed right past his face, narrowly missing his cheek. Seishi's eyes turned around in shock. _There's no way she can be so close already?'_ True to his fears however, Anko was in sight and gaining. Seishi groaned before pumping more chakra into his legs and speeding up, trying to create distance by making his pathing random and with as much obstacles as possible. However as he looked behind him again, she was still there and still gaining.

Seishi cursed. He would have to take more drastic measures. He refused to be caught, because he knew if he did, he would never be able to touch her. Seishi reached down and grabbed some ninja wire and a kunai, being careful to stay mindful of his footing as he leaped between branches. He tied a knot through the loop of the kunai and after seeing a good spot, a tree that was not too far away, but had thick branches even higher up, he threw the kunai and embedded it into the body of the tree. He gave a quick tug to make sure it didn't fall out before applying chakra to his hands and leaping out of the branch he was on. He swung around the trunk of the tree, the wind rushing through his hair, his momentum taking him up to a higher level of branches. As he reached a uitable height and felt the wire slacken up, he let go, aiming for a branch underneath him. He landed on a particularly thick branch, crouching as he did so. He stood up and gave himself a proud smirk.

"That was pretty cool" Seishi laughed.

"Ya it was." Seishi heard behind him. Seishi yelped as he turned around to see his his Sensei standing there with a smug smirk.

"Are you kidding me?!" Seishi yelled out. Anko laughed again, truly finding enjoyment in toying with her new student.

"That was pretty cool, but your run ends here." She said. Seishi just stuck his tongue out at her. A tick mark formed on Anko's head. "How childish are you?" She yelled.

"You still haven't caught me yet!" Seishi yelled back as he turned around and went to run away again.

"Oh no you don't brat." Seishi took three steps before he heard a call of, **"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands"**. Seishi turned around to see multiple snakes rushing out at him, coming from his Sensei's left sleeve. The snakes wrapped around him multiple times, restraining his movement completely. Seishi struggled against the continuously constricting pythons wrapped around him. "You almost thought you could get away again? Nuh uh." Anko said as she sauntered towards him, that smug smile returning to her face once again.

"This is totally cheating." Seishi said as he still struggled. Anko laughed at him as he squirmed, which only caused the snakes to tighten up farther.

"I said all ninja arts was allowed didn't I? That includes summons." Seishi groaned as he still strained against his bondage, but the snakes allowed no wiggle room. The faces of said snakes were much closer to Seishi's own than he was comfortable with, that was for sure. Anko finally reached him after walking slowly, rubbing it in that he wasn't going anywhere. "And now my cute little student," Anko began as she bent down slightly towards him to look him straight in the eye. "You are now it." She said as she brought up her finger and booped him on the nose. Seishi blushed a little bit at the touch and turned his head away. Anko noticed the bashful look on his face and laughed. _'Definitely not like most Uchiha I used to know._ ' "Tag." She said before laughing again and walking away, the snakes tails leaving her sleeves as they stayed wrapped up around them.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Seishi asked her. A little bit of panic in his voice.

"Why to get a head start of course. Just like you did" Anko said with a smirk. Seishi's eyes darted between her and the snakes wrapped around him.

"A little help? Please?" Seishi asked her quickly, getting really uncomfortable at the thought of being alone with Anko's snakes.

"Nope!" Anko said with a large smile. Seishi blanched, his face becoming ashen and looking from the corner of his eyes and making eye contact with one snake in particular that decided to flick its tongue out and lick his cheek.

"Anko-sensei c'mon, please?" He asked again.

"Don't worry they won't bite. Hard." Anko added, giggling again as Seishi's look of horror continued to grow. "Well I'll be going now, try not to get eaten by anything unsavory. I'd hate to have to fish you from something's stomach." Anko said as she walked back towards the body of the tree.

"That's all a big joke and you're coming back to help me right?" Seishi asked. Anko just simply waved over her shoulder, reaching the body of the tree and leaping down to another branch. "Anko-sensei?" Seishi called out. "Anko-sensei?" He called out a little louder. "Anko-sensei?!" Seishi yelled out. "Are you kidding me? She actually left? What a horrible teacher." Seishi groaned. Not taking to kindly to his words, one of the snakes leaned over in front of Seishi and opened its mouth wide. "I'm sorry! Please don't eat me!" Seishi whimpered out. The snake closed its mouth and leaned closer to Seishi. Before bobbing its head up and down like it was laughing at him. Seishi flushed in embarrassment before struggling against the snakes even more. "She's gone now, so can I leave too?" He asked the snakes. Their only response was to tighten up more. "Wow you guys are just as rude as her." Seishi said downtrodden, before resuming his struggle.

* * *

Anko sat on one of the roots of a tree near the area where she and her little apprentice had started their game of tag. The game, however, turned out to be much more one sided than she expected. She had left her pupil in the canopy of this forest in the cozy clutches of her snake summons, but she didn't think it would've taken this long for him to find her. In all honesty she was starting to worry about the poor Uchiha. While she may have been exaggerating a tad when it came to things that could hurt him all the way up there, that didn't mean this forest wasn't dangerous. They didn't call it the Forest of Death for no reason.

Anko took a deep sigh and stood up. She had settled on finding her apprentice and cutting down anything in this forest that may have harmed him. It would really look bad for her if something were to happen to one of the last Uchiha this village had, and she did not want to deal with that headache. Plus she already decided she liked the kid. He was fun to tease and bought her dango, so he already has a few things going for him. She especially liked that he was expressive, something not only was the Uchiha clan normally lacking, but also the Hyuga clan. As Anko prepared to take to the tree tops, she heard the sound of branches being tossed aside from her right. She directed her gaze in that direction to see her apprentice she was just thinking about come flying from between the trees and running straight towards her. She waved towards him and called out to him.

"Oh hey brat, finally come to resu-"

"ANKO-SENSEI SAVE ME!" Seishi screamed out. Anko's cheerful visage changed into one of confusion until she saw three giant yellow tigers break from the treeline behind Seishi. The tigers were at least ten feet in height and double that long. They were one of the most vicious predators in these woods and one of the things she was hoping Seishi did not run into. Anko clicked her tongue in annoyance before flashing through some hand signs.

" **Earth Style: Mud Wall** "Anko called out as she slapped her hands to the ground. A wall shot up out of the ground behind Seishi and cutting him off from the chasing predators. Anko pushed some more chakra into the wall, rising it to about thirty feet before she stopped. She stood up removing a kunai from inside her coat in case the tigers decided they wanted some more. Seishi ran up straight to Anko and hid behind her. He was practically shaking from being chased by monsters. There was no way those were actual animals in his eyes. Anko waited a few more seconds before sheathing her kunai and turning around to the frightened Uchiha. Seishi's eyes were fixated on the newly formed mud wall in front of him, seeing if the tigers showed themselves and he needed to run some more. Anko reached her hand out and started ruffling his hair, drawing Seishi's eyes back to his sensei.

"You okay brat?" Anko asked softly, concern finding its way in her voice. Seishi just looked from her to the wall and back to Anko, before shaking his head and responding,

"Yea-" Seishi's voice cracked a little bit, "I mean yeah." Seishi coughed, as his voice resumed its normal tone.

"What happened?" Anko asked, the concern having not left. Seishi's looked back to the wall, and after not seeing any fur, recanted his short tale.

 _Seishi was currently standing underneath a branch far below the one he was trapped on earlier, using his chakra to hold himself to the wood and defy gravity. Seishi always enjoyed manipulating his chakra for fun, even when it was unnecessary. It wasn't too long ago that he had finally gotten away from those dastardly snakes. Seishi was sure they hadn't tightened his as much as they could have, because he was able to wiggle his hands together and perform two hand seals and perform a substitution. As soon as they noticed a log was in their grasp and not him, they poofed into smoke and disappeared, which was just fine for Seishi. He didn't like being made fun of by snakes. He knew they were making fun of him. Back in the Academy they talked briefly about summons and how they're smarter than the average animal, so Seishi was absolutely certain they were making fun of him and he did not like it at all. However he had more pressing matters to deal with. His sensei had actually left him, and now he had to not only find her, but also locate the exit in these forsaken woods. Seishi sighed as he looked around. He could spot where his kunai was that he had swung on so he had at least a general direction, but he had run in such wild patterns that it would be difficult to back track._

 _Whatever, better late than never Seishi said as he stretched his shoulders. He was just about to fall off his branch when he heard a low growl from below him. Seishi craned his neck up and looked to the ground and saw something he was not expecting. A giant yellow and black striped tiger was standing on the forest floor, around twenty five feet below him. Which may have been fine it this tiger wasn't almost half that height. Seishi's eyes went huge before he started creeping up the branch. He didn't even breathe as the tiger kept its beady eyes on him. As Seishi made his way around the branch, he heard wood creaking above him. As Seishi turned his head to look above the branch, he saw another one of those giant tigers on the branch he was currently partly under. Seishi's started to panic as he slowly stepped back underneath the branch, only to see yet another giant tiger to his right roughly fifteen feet away. Seishi's breathing started to increase rapidly, he was not ready for this._ 'Anko wasn't joking after all' _Seishi thought in dismay. Seishi heard the wood above him creak some more as he was a giant tiger paw start reaching below the branch and feeling for him. At seeing that, Seishi had enough. Seishi screamed. It was a short yelp of fear, but it set the tigers in motion. Seeing his only option for retreat was to his left, he took a step up the branch for power and leapt for another branch not too far away. As soon as he moved so did the tigers, each making their own path towards him. Seishi immediately started bolting running as fast as he could in whatever direction. It didn't matter to him, all he wanted to do was put some distance between him and the tigers._

 _Seishi hazardly looked behind him and saw that not only were the tigers huge, they were also fast. Seishi gave another yelp as he pushed more chakra into his legs and leapt between branches with all his might, running when there was enough room. Seishi ran for several minutes when he saw something he thought he may never see again. Standing up and stretching was his Sensei. Seeing her pushed Seishi to his limits, she was his savior right now and she had never looked more beautiful. He ran through several more branches on his way to her, and it seemed to catch her attention as she looked in his direction. He finally broke through the tree lie into the small plain she was in. He saw her wave in his direction._

" _Oh hey brat, finally come to resu-" Anko started. Seishi didn't care what she was about to say. He just yelled out to her._

" _ANKO-SENSEI SAVE ME!" He yelled as loud as he could._

After finishing up his retelling, Seishi straightened up and pushed Anko's invading hand away, trying to push away the fact that a minute ago he was terrified. Anko smirked at the tough guy act he was trying to put on. Anko gave him a once over looking for any external damages. She could only see a couple tears in his shirt and a few scratches, all likely caused by branches he ran past on his desperate scramble back here. Anko felt a twinge of guilt creep into her for letting this happen. She never should have disappeared on him in a place so dangerous. She felt like a fool for letting this happen to someone that was her own responsibility.

 _'Great.'_ Anko thought, _'One day in and I already almost let him die. I won't make that mistake twice.'_ Anko grit her teeth. She was not going to be the reason Seishi died, and to do that she would make him stronger. "Alright brat, break time's over." She said to the Uchiha. Said Uchiha immediately straightened up completely and gave Anko his full attention, his thought now far away from the tigers. "We're going to start some real training. That game of tag was a warm-up, and after that experience, I think you're plenty warmed up." Seishi nodded at her words. Seeing him listen fully, Anko continued. "Follow me. We'll leave the forest for now, just for you, but this will not be the last time you see it." Seishi nodded at that. Anko then turned around and walked to the gate, unlocking it and letting Seishi through before locking it back up. "We will train in this plain for today, and we'll move to a closer training ground for tomorrow. Now, to train as a ninja one must be fully aware of what they're training for. Now what are we going to train for?" Anko asked. Seishi mulled over it in thought for a few seconds, his mind coming to his recent experience with monster tigers.

"To not die?" Seishi finally said questioningly. The only response he could come up with. Anko smirked at the answer.

"Good enough. We will be training to not die, be that to enemy ninja or ferocious summons or normal animals. Now to do that I will pushing you to your limits day in and day out. Only when you hit your limit will we stop for the day and do missions to push you even further. Got it?" Anko asked Seishi. The Uchiha's eyes went wide at that. He didn't realize Anko was going to be so tough, but it excited him. He was sure under Anko's guidance he would reach incredible heights, especially if she pushed him so far every day. He met Anko's eyes with a determined look.

"Got it. I'm ready." Seishi declared. Anko's smirk turned into a full smile. _'Kid's got guts. This'll be fun.'_ Anko thought happily. Her smile then turned into a wolfish grin.

"Well then kid, come at me with all you got." Anko said as she tensed herself for the upcoming "spar". The kid had no idea. Seishi's gaze was confident as he lowered himself into his own modified stance and prepared for his fight with his Sensei. His legs may have been sore from his race with tigers, but if she wanted his best, he would give her his best.

"Go." Anko spoke, and that was all Seishi needed. As soon as the word left her lips, he was off.


End file.
